Rishi Sunak has insisted that his decisions on net zero showed he understood the impact of policy choices on household finances after he was challenged on the public perception of him as ‘rich’.
The prime minister – who with his wife Akshata Murty has an estimated net worth of £529 million – was shown a word cloud on the BBC which suggested the main thing the public thought about him was he was well off.
But he pointed to his decisions on easing the shift away from gas boilers and petrol and diesel cars as signs he understood the cost pressures facing people.
“That is a decision which was motivated by me wanting to ease the burden on families,” he told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme.
“And again, I get lots of criticism from people about that, people who could happily afford to rip out that boiler, install incredibly expensive energy efficiency upgrades in their rural home that’s off the gas grid, or change their car sooner than is necessary.
“It might be fine for them to do all those things. I don’t think it’s right, I don’t think it’s necessary. I want to save families £5-, £10-, £15-, £20,000. That’s why I made the decision I did.”
Watch the clip in full below:
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