Rishi Sunal admits taking money from deprived areas

[hellmannsnotheinz]

amp.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/05/video-emerges-of-rishi-sunak-admitting-to-taking-money-from-deprived-areas

Sorry if this thread has already been done, could t see one.

Thoughts please Mumsnet

The only thing that surprises me here is that a Tory is honestly admitting to something

The red wall actually voted Tory partly due to the effects of the cuts which were blamed on Labour councils.

Yeah, they wouldn't usually tell you in plain sight. The Cameron government cut councils to the bone in poor Labour areas but not Tory ones.

I'm honestly not particularly bothered by how rich he is or isn't, (obviously he is exceptionally wealthy).
I am concerned that he has little comprehension about the challenges facing much of the UK populous.
However he is speaking more economic sense than Truss.

As someone who is currently in the USA and has lived around the world I also don't have an issue with people who also do. I object far more to those who use their wealth to manage freedom of movement while removing legal channels for other s with lower incomes to do this.

@Anothernamechangeplease you might well be right. Either way, whether it’s a sincere distain for his point of view or the fact that it makes them all look pretty heartless, I reckon we can both agree they’re not going to be all that happy. It confirms everyone else’s worst suspicions.
Conservatives I know seem to be quite pessimistic (they would say realistic) and think that leftie liberals like me are childish dreamers who don’t appreciate that running an economy efficiently is more important for everyone’s well-being than giving money to the poor who will only become dependent. I think all the available evidence shows that investing in poorer communities and providing resources to poorer people is in fact an excellent way of improving both prosperity for the whole country and closing the gap between the richest and poorest to make a fairer society. However, I can see how the “trickledown” or the “rising tides lifts all boats” perspective makes intuitive sense to some Tory voters, it’s one that a lot of them seem to have been raised with so it seems true on a deep level.

I watched his little speech on TikTok earlier! What an absolute prick

I think he was trying to get the very right wing on board and making them think they made the right decision to vote Tory .
I honestly despair at the way they way they have divided this country

@hellmannsnotheinz Yes, though arguably this is chiefly through marriage as his wife is the daughter of Narayana Murthy who is worth in the region of 3.1 billion US dollars. When you consider it’s only her and one other brother set to inherit this wealth it certainly puts him in the realm of the super rich. His wife also actively runs or is involved with the directing much of Murthy’s portfolio already.
He is certainly more professional middle class himself by birth from what I can figure out, but his peers in Winchester college would have included the UK upper classes and the children of the global super rich, as well as others like him.

The Tories are getting more and more brazen with their “fuck the poor” attitude. It’ll probably be their official slogan in a few years.

Imagine what he's said about deprived areas that we don't know about

I don't care about him being rich either @calmlakes. I do care about him being an arsehole though, and if anyone was in any doubt about that before the Tunbridge Wells video, they must be pretty clear about it now!

It seems to me that the vast majority of Tories are more than happy to take money away from the poor in order to give it to the rich, because that's what they have been doing for years. However, they do usually like to be allowed to pretend to themselves that they're doing it for the right reasons, and Rishi has just been a bit too honest on this occasion. Nobody likes to be confronted with such uncomfortable truths

good point

this is levelling up!!!

I presume he was meaning in the context that poor rural areas also got some of the cash? Even predominantly wealthy areas like Tunbridge Wells still have significant pockets of deprivation. Expensive and sparse public transport means it can be far harder to be poor in those areas (particularly villages) than in the cities.
I don’t vote Conservative but believe that Sunak is a much better option than Truss. For a party daft enough to choose Johnson as it’s leader last time, who knows who they will choose. At least Rishi is too rich to be bribed by free wallpaper!

Let’s not give him a pass he wasn’t talking to some small village town in the north of the country- he was delivering a speech to a bunch of retired Torie voters in Tunbridge wells ffs. Revelling in the delight of being part responsible for removing/ destroying/ dismantling the safety nets Labour had put in deprived areas to help with silly little things like child poverty.
the man is scum, too rich, too stupid and too Torie !

Did he mean take it from deprived urban areas to give some to deprived rural areas ( or areas where there is some rural deprivation)? I think there was a bit more nuance to it.

Did he mean take it from deprived urban areas to give some to deprived rural areas ( or areas where there is some rural deprivation)? I think there was a bit more nuance to it.

I wouldn't personally describe Tunbridge Wells as a deprived rural area, would you?

Tories in 'fuck the poor' shocker.

Next up, where bears shit will amaze you.

Yep, and the pope's a Catholic.

In addition, the £1bn funding boost Rishi distributed as part of the English Towns initiative was used politically too. Seven eighths of the funding went to Tory seats and the remaining eighth went to areas the Tories were likely to target in the next election.

Corruption and manipulation are Tory Government values: can we really be surprised?

There was no nuance. He was standing in a garden, talking to white, middle-aged, middle-class Tory party members in Royal Tunbridge fucking Wells.

I know there are foodbanks in RTW, but he wasn't in one of them.

He just said the quiet part out loud, is all.

When it comes to the Tories, shafting the poor is not a bug, it's a feature.

A few weeks ago Con MP Dehenna Davison told the Burnley audience of Question Time: I think there is a little bit too much emphasis on money. while talking about the Government's Leveling Up Policy.

They can't even be arsed pretending anymore.🙄

Wealthier areas collect more in council and business taxes, they provide less council tax support, they have more people self funding for care, they fund less home support.
These areas also have less need for social services interventions too.

They basically have more money before any extra Govt support is needed.

Hence very wealth areas often having lower Council tax rates.

The MP for Royal Tunbridge Wells, Greg Clark, is the new Secretary of State for Levelling Up…