He boasted to Conservative party members in Tunbridge Wells that he was clear the situation “had to be undone” when he was in power. And he boasted that he had funneled money into prosperous cities like theirs. He said he had started to change the types of public funding to ensure more places like the south-east city got “the funding they deserve”. The footage, obtained by the New Statesman magazine, was from an event with grassroots Tories last week. Labor said it was “outrageous” that Mr Sunack “openly bragged about setting the rules to funnel taxpayers’ money into rich Tory backwaters”. However, Mr Sunak’s campaign defended the remarks, linking them to the government’s flattening agenda. They said it changed the rules on government spending to help cities and rural areas that also need investment. In the video, Mr Sunak told Tory party members, who will choose either the former chancellor or his rival Liz Truss as the next prime minister: “I’ve managed to start changing the types of funding, to make sure that areas like this they receive the funding. they deserve it because we inherited a bunch of guys from Labor who pushed all the funding into deprived urban areas and that had to be undone. “I set to work to undo that.” Labour’s shadow leveling secretary Lisa Nundy said: “This is scandalous. Rishi Sunak openly boasts that he set the rules for funneling taxpayers’ money into wealthy Tory boroughs. “This is our money. It should be spent fairly and where it is most needed – not used as a bribe to Tory members. “Speak to show your true colors…” A source in Mr Sunak’s campaign said: “Rising water levels are not just about city centres, but towns and rural areas across the country that also need help. This was changed in the green paper and will follow as prime minister though. ” “Travelling around the country, he has seen non-metropolitan areas that need better bus service, faster broadband or high-quality schools. This is what he will offer as prime minister.” At the same event Mr Sunak was openly questioned about his record of pandemic support for business by members of the Tory party. The SNP’s Alison Thewliss said: “Rishi Sunak has been honest with Tory party members about his plans for the future but not with the general public.” In a separate video of the same event, seen by the Independent, Mr Sunak suggests that the people caught in the loopholes of Treasury support during the Covid pandemic were not Tory voters. He took issue with Donna Potter who told him, referring to the 3 million people who have fallen through the cracks in the Treasury’s financial assistance: “If we don’t fix the gaps in support, they won’t be voting Conservative at the next general election.” Mr Sunak replied: “As it turns out, many of them probably weren’t Conservatives to begin with.” Mr Sunak is widely seen as trailing his rival Ms Truss in the race to secure the keys to No 10. A series of opinion polls show the foreign secretary has a clear lead over her former cabinet colleague. On Thursday Mr Sunak insisted he would not drop out of the race even if polls 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 ballots. The next prime minister is expected to be announced on September 5.
