An LBC caller managed to convince Rachel Johnson that a £100,000 salary isn’t much at all – because it leaves him and his wife with only £600 a week after taxes and bills.
A debate broke out this weekend after chancellor Jeremy Hunt appeared to double down on his assertion that £100,000 a year is “not a huge salary” for people in his constituency after opposition critics accused him of being out of touch.
Jeremy Hunt said the sum “doesn’t go as far as you might think” in South West Surrey, but appeared to rule out a review of childcare funding to benefit higher-earning parents in this Parliament.
Hunt was derided over the weekend for making the claim in a post on X about conversations he had been having with residents as part of his work as an MP.
Asked whether he regretted the post, he told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “What sounds like a large salary – when you have house prices averaging around £670,000 in my area and you’ve got a mortgage and childcare costs – it doesn’t go as far as you might think.
“We weren’t able to afford to fund childcare for people on the higher salaries but I was simply saying that’s something I’d love to be able to look at in the next parliament.”
The UK’s median gross annual earnings for full-time employees was £34,963 in April 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Debating the issue on LBC, Boris Johnson’s sister Rachel appeared to agree that the six-figure sum doesn’t stretch as far as you might think after discussing the matter with a caller.
Watch the clip in full below:
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