'You’re lying through your teeth'
Rishi Sunak faced a grilling from callers during a phone-in this morning on Nick Ferrari’s LBC show as members of the public didn’t hold back from telling the Prime Minister how they felt.
Caller Ellen from Bethnal Green called in to press the Prime Minister over what the Conservative Party has, or in fact hasn’t, delivered for young people in Britain.
Ellen said: “As a young person in this country everything about my future feels more uncertain after 14 years now of Tory austerity.
“Housing is insecure and unaffordable, tuition fees have risen, public services like the NHS are crumbling and you’ve now wasted 14 years taking absolutely no climate action.
“How could you possibly argue that life is better for young people now after consecutive Tory governments.”
Rishi Sunak claimed he wanted young people to feel confident about their future and focused on his aim to help young people afford to buy a house. He claimed buying a house was something most people spoke to him about – “I remember it’s a very special feeling” – clearly not realising just how out of reach even the idea of home ownership is for many young people today.
He said he would help build new homes, abolish stamp duty for first time buyers and introduce a new help to buy. However he was then confronted over the government’s failure to meet its target to build 300,000 homes last year, before Nick Ferrari went on to question the party’s offer to renters.
“You’ve had five years to ban section 21 evictions, why should anyone trust you’d do it again,” asked Ferrari.
Sunak said he was “sorry” this hadn’t been delivered and promised to get it done if the Conservatives are re-elected. He went on to claim the party had in fact made moves to improve conditions for renters and to enhance the quality of rental properties.
However his answers failed to impress the caller, who accused Sunak of lying and reflected the discontent felt by many young people in the country today.
Ellen responded: “I think that simply isn’t true, I’m a renter and I wouldn’t say anything has improved.
“Frankly I think you’re lying through your teeth a bit, you’ve had a decade and a half to improve housing, to improve rental issues, to improve any of the issues I talked about and you haven’t, and I think young people just don’t believe your promises anymore.”
(Image credit: LBC screenshot)
Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward
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