"Imagine having no working class friends. Unreal. I dunno why but I stupidly assumed that they at least knew normal people."
When Rishi Sunak set out his leadership pitch for the Conservative Party, his video announcing his intention to run as well as his vision for Britain, led some in our media to fawning over the former chancellor, describing his campaign launch as ‘slick’ and fresh.
Well since then another video has emerged, leading to widespread condemnation of the former chancellor as well as yet more evidence of just how out of touch he is.
Sunak appeared in a documentary aired on the BBC in 2001, called ‘Middle Classes: The Rise and Sprawl’ in which his parents are asked about their decision to send him to £46,000-a-year independent boarding school Winchester College.
Critics have questioned whether Sunak really is a man of the people after he says: “I have friends who are aristocrats, I have friends who are upper-class, I have friends who are working class.” He then corrects himself: “Well, not working class.”
After the clip was shared on social media, many expressed their shock. One Twitter user wrote: “Imagine having no working class friends. Unreal. I dunno why but I stupidly assumed that they at least knew normal people.”
Commenting on the clip, Labour Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy tweeted: “Rishi Sunak, on camera, saying his friends are Aristocrats and members of the upper class, “not working class”.
“He would be a Prime Minister for the few not the many.”
Associate editor at the Mirror Kevin Maguire tweeted: “Are there any working class people who’d want to be friends with Rishi Sunak?”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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