Rishi Sunak may learn the hard way that entitlement isn’t a good look

In the face of a cost-of-living crisis, the machinations of the rich and powerful in their apparent quest to quietly hoard wealth are not likely to go down well with voters, writes Harriet Williamson

Since the spring statement, Rishi Sunak’s popularity has taken a massive 24-point hit (PA)

“It feels like Partygate all over again,” a friend told me. Revelations about Rishi Sunak’s tax affairs seem, for those of us outside the Westminster bubble, a lot like another case of “one rule for them”.

Since the spring statement, Sunak’s popularity has taken a massive 24-point hit. Throughout the Downing Street party scandal, the chancellor was seen as the heir apparent, the strongest Tory contender to replace Boris Johnson, if a leadership contest came to pass. Now, Liz Truss has overtaken Sunak as the favourite to succeed the “greased piglet”, in David Cameron’s eternal words.

Last week, we learned that Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, was using non-dom status, which allowed her to avoid paying a potential £20m in UK tax. Sunak held a US green card for 19 months while chancellor, and The Independent revealed that he was listed as a beneficiary of tax haven trusts while setting taxes in the UK.