Sunak hits back at his critics

To Policy Exchange, the chameleon think tank that changes with the seasons. The summer party was well under way by the time Mr S rocked up, with Gavin Williamson and Sajid Javid clutching glasses in the shade of Westminster Abbey. But Pimms and canapés weren’t the only things on the menu tonight, as Rishi Sunak took to the stage to deliver the keynote speech at one of Westminster’s hottest summer receptions.

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The Chancellor has been smarting in recent weeks from the stinging criticism that followed his Spring Statement. And his mood can’t have been helped by the introduction he was given by Policy Exchange’s chairman Alexander Downer, the former Australian High Commissioner. Welcoming his guest to the stage, Downer quipped that ‘it’s good of the Chancellor to take time out of his busy schedule from, er, winding down the deficit and taking our taxes – which way do we want them to go? Down!’

But Sunak hit back at his critics inside (and outside) of government with a series of timely quips.