Rishi Sunak has come under fire after a video emerged of him speaking about “changing funding formulas” to give more money to the wealthier parts of the country.
The former chancellor and current leadership candidate told party members in Kent he would “undo” funding for deprived urban areas to help wealthy areas “get the funding they deserve”.
The video, which was filmed on July 29, was revealed by The New Statesman on Friday.
In the video, Sunak bragged about “changing funding formulas” to ensure areas like Tunbridge Wells, where the average house price is £530,000, “get the funding they deserve.
Sunak said: “I managed to start changing the funding formulas, to make sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserve because we inherited a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas and that needed to be undone. I started the work of undoing that.”
Rishi Sunak video
EXC: @RishiSunak told Tories in Tunbridge Wells that as Chancellor he tried to reverse Treasury formulas "that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas" so areas like theirs could benefit @NewStatesman story: https://t.co/HYwGAdMrFP pic.twitter.com/XGNJRWSlwR
— Rachel Wearmouth (@REWearmouth) August 5, 2022
Rishi Sunak has faced criticism online after the video went viral.
One social media user wrote: “You’re not meant to say it out loud.”
Another added: “Oh Rishi,you've dropped your ice cream big time, what were you thinking !!!”
"Levelling up" was always a cynical lie. Anyone surprised by Sunaks' admission is a bit gullible frankly,” added a third.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and the former chancellor Rishi Sunak, the two candidates vying to become the next prime minister, will be put through their paces again at a Tory hustings in Eastbourne on Friday evening.
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