Sunak reportedly told Conservative Party members last week that he thinks “people have been sitting at home, building up some savings hopefully and we would like to go and spend them when we get back.”
Brits on social media, however, mocked the suggestion that their bank accounts had been growing under a pandemic and subsequent economic crisis where many have lost their jobs, and accused Sunak of “living in a parallel universe to the rest of us.”
Some pointed out that Sunak – who is married to an Indian billionaire’s daughter who is reportedly richer than the Queen – is one of the richest men in the country, with an estimated net worth of £200 million (about $270 million).
“Between Rishi Sunak and his wife they have a net worth of around half a billion and he is the richest sitting MP,” wrote Instagram personality Ines Helene. “His father in law is a billionaire, hence the disconnect from reality.”
© REUTERS/Simon DawsonHelene went on to note that “most people don’t have the savings he’s talking about” – a sentiment shared by many others, who asked what savings Sunak was referring to.
Journalist Rachel Mackie claimed Sunak’s tone-deaf comments demonstrate “a complete lack of understanding about the realities of the living situation of most people in the UK, and especially how Covid has impacted people’s lives.”
Others were less polite and more forward, calling the Chancellor a “big rich pillock” and telling him to “f**k off.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson angered Brits on Saturday by introducing a strict new set of rules just days before Christmas, prohibiting many family members in different households from meeting each other, starting Sunday. Justified by a “rapidly spreading” new coronavirus strain, the last-minute restrictions in effect caused a mass exodus from London, with videos showing packed railway stations and huge road traffic jams.
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