Starmer presses Sunak to undo diversion of funding from ‘deprived’ urban areas

Rishi Sunak insisted he is “not selling fairy tales” as Prime Minister, amid pleas from Labour to undo efforts to divert funding from “deprived” urban areas.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer used the pair’s first clash in the Commons to raise video footage of Mr Sunak in which he told Tory party members that, as chancellor, he had started changing public funding formulas to ensure more prosperous towns receive “the funding they deserve”.

Sir Keir also renewed calls for a general election as he noted Mr Sunak was “trounced” in this summer’s Tory leadership contest by Liz Truss, joking that she then “got beaten by a lettuce”.

The Prime Minister countered by hitting out at Sir Keir’s record on Brexit, saying he had “tried to overturn the biggest democratic vote in our country’s history”.

In a rowdy Commons chamber, Sir Keir said of Mr Sunak: “He pretends he’s on the side of working people, but in private he says something very different.

“Over the summer he was secretly recorded at a garden party in Tunbridge Wells boasting to a group of Tory members that he personally moved money away from deprived areas to wealthy places instead.

“Rather than apologise or pretend that he meant something else, why doesn’t he now do the right thing and undo the changes he made to those funding formulas?”

To cheers, Mr Sunak replied: “I know (Sir Keir) rarely leaves north London, but if he does he will know that there are deprived areas in our rural communities, in our coastal communities and across the south and this Government will relentlessly support them because we are a Government that will deliver across the United Kingdom.

“He mentioned the last few weeks – I’m the first to admit mistakes were made and that’s the reason I’m standing here. But that is the difference between him and me.

“This summer I was being honest about the difficulties that we were facing, but when he ran for leader he promised his party he would borrow billions and billions of pounds.

“I told the truth for the good of the country, he told his party what it wanted to hear. Leadership is not selling fairy tales, it is confronting challenges and that is the leadership the British people will get from this Government.”

Sir Keir reiterated Mr Sunak is “not on the side of working people” before adding: “That’s why the only time he ran in a competitive election he got trounced by the former prime minister, who herself got beaten by a lettuce.

“So why doesn’t he put it to the test, let working people have their say and call a general election?”

Mr Sunak replied: “He talks about mandates, about votes, about elections, it’s a bit rich coming from the person who tried to overturn the biggest democratic vote in our country’s history.

“Our mandate is based on the manifesto that we were elected on – to remind him, an election we won and they lost.”

Earlier, Sir Keir pressed Mr Sunak on the return of Suella Braverman as Home Secretary just days after she resigned over a breach of security.

Mr Sunak replied: “The Home Secretary made an error of judgment but she recognised that, she raised the matter and she accepted her mistake.

“That is why I was delighted to welcome her back into a united cabinet that brings experience and stability to the heart of Government.”

Sir Keir later said: “He’s so weak, he’s done a grubby deal trading national security because he was scared to lose another leadership election. There’s a new Tory at the top but as always with them party first, country second.”

Sir Keir also called on the Government to “get rid” of non-dom status, noting: “The Government currently allows very rich people to live here but register abroad for tax purposes, I don’t need to explain to the Prime Minister how non-dom status works, he already knows all about that.

“It costs the Treasury £3.2 billion every year. Why doesn’t he put his… money where his mouth is and get rid of it?”

Mr Sunak replied: “I have been honest, we will have to take difficult decisions to restore economic stability and confidence, and my honourable friend the Chancellor (Jeremy Hunt) will set that out in an autumn statement in just a few weeks.

“But what I can say, as we did during Covid, we will always protect the most vulnerable, we will do this in a fair way, but what I can say, I am glad that the party opposite, the honourable gentleman has finally realised that spending does need to be paid for, it is a novel concept for the party opposite.

“This Government is going to restore economic stability and we will do it in a fair and compassionate way.”