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News UK UK Politics Leaked video shows Rishi Sunak saying he took funding from deprived urban areas Boast made to Tory party members
Kate Devlin Whitehall Editor
Friday 05 August 2022 15:04 BST
Rishi Sunak boasts about taking money from 'deprived urban areas' to help wealthy towns Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
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Your support makes all the difference. Read more A leaked video shows Rishi Sunak claiming that Treasury formulas āshoved all the funding into deprived urban areasā of the UK before he became chancellor .
He boasted to Conservative party members in Tunbridge Wells that he was clear the situation āneeded to be undoneā when he was in office.
And he bragged that he had directed money towards prosperous towns like theirs instead.
He said he had started changing public funding formulas to ensure more places like the south east town receive āthe funding they deserveā.
The footage, obtained by the New Statesman magazine , was from an event with grassroots Tories last week. Labour denounced it as āscandalousā that Mr Sunak was āopenly boasting that he fixed the rules to funnel taxpayersā money to rich Tory shiresā.
But Mr Sunakās campaign defended the remarks, linking it to the governmentās levelling up agenda. They said he had changed the rules on government spending to help towns and rural areas also in need of investment.
In the video, Mr Sunak told Tory party members, who will choose either the former chancellor or his rival Liz Truss to be the next prime minister: āI managed to start changing the funding formulas, to make sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserve because we inherited a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas and that needed to be undone.
āI started the work of undoing that.ā
Labourās shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy said: āThis is scandalous. Rishi Sunak is openly boasting that he fixed the rules to funnel taxpayersā money to rich Tory shires.
āThis is our money. It should be spent fairly and where itās most needed - not used as a bribe to Tory members.
āTalk about showing your true colours...ā
A source in Mr Sunakās campaign said: āLevelling up isnāt just about city centres, itās also about towns and rural areas all over the country that need help too. Thatās what he changed in the green book and he will follow though as prime minister. ā
āTravelling around the country, heās seen non-metropolitan areas that need better bus services, faster broadband or high quality schools. Thatās what heāll deliver as prime minister.ā
At the same event Mr Sunak was openly challenged on his track record of pandemic support for businesses by Tory party members.
The SNPās Alison Thewliss said: "Rishi Sunak has beenĀ honest with Tory party members about his plans for the future, but not with the general public.ā
In a separate video of the same event, seen by the Independent, Mr Sunak suggests people caught in the gaps ofĀ Treasury support during Covid pandemic were not Tory voters.
He was challenged on the issue Donna Potter who told him, in reference to the 3 million people who fell into the cracks of Treasury financial aid: āIf we donāt sort the gaps in support they will not vote Conservative in the next general election.ā
Mr Sunak replied: āAs it turned out, lots of them probably were not Conservatives in the first place.ā
Mr Sunak is widely thought to be trailing his rival Ms Truss in the race to secure the keys to No 10.
A series of opinion polls suggest the foreign secretary has a clear margin ahead of her former cabinet colleague.
On Thursday Mr Sunak insisted he would not drop out of the race even if surveys continue to show a huge gap between the two candidates.
Mr Sunak is running out of time to catch up. Many Tory members are expected to vote within days of receiving their ballot papers.
The next prime minister is due to be announced on 5 September.
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