‘Do you think people are stupid?’ Rishi Sunak grilled by MPs

After unveiling his spring statement on Wednesday, Rishi Sunak found himself under attack from all sides: his personal approval ratings dived amid a media backlash and criticism from his own side. So, the Chancellor’s appearance this afternoon before the Treasury Select Committee on paper made for a painful session. 

Over the course of several hours, the committee of MPs quizzed him on whether he thought people were ‘stupid’ when it came to his pre-election tax cut, the impact of Brexit on trade and why he had borrowed a Sainsbury’s worker’s Kia for a publicity shot. When it came to the latter question, Sunak admitted that his team has asked a supermarket worker to lend their car for his spring statement photo-op to mark the five pence cut in fuel duty. He said that rather than a Kia, the car he used at home was a Volkswagen Golf. 

So, what of Sunak’s defence of his spring statement measures? First, in a sign that Sunak is undeterred by much of the criticism so far (including calls for more help for the most vulnerable), the Chancellor reiterated his comments made to MPs last week.