Rishi Sunak’s post-Budget photo opps have not gone well at all

Rishi Sunak ended his spring statement by trumpeting the fact he’s responsible for the biggest personal tax cut in a generation – reminding many of his supposed leadership ambitions.

To burnish his credentials, Sunak set out on a media round – with disastrous results. A photo of him filling up a car while wearing a mic, abjectly failing to use contactless, and footage of him telling a reporter “we all have different breads in our house” all invited mockery.

Delivered as income for Brits faced the biggest drop since the 1950s, it was hoped Sunak’s Spring Statement would provide relief for millions struggling with the cost of living crisis.

He announced a 5p cut to fuel duty, and raised the National Insurance threshold by £3,000, but the Joseph Rowntree foundation estimated 600,000 people would be pulled into poverty as a result of the mini-budget.

In the hours after Sunak left the despatch box, he embarked on a media round to promote the economic measures.

Petrol

Fresh off the back of a 5p cut to fuel tax, Asda announced it would be cutting the price of petrol by 6p a litre. Eager to highlight the headline policy from the Spring Statement, Sunak tweeted a photo of himself at the pump, filling up a Kia Rio.

The billionaire chancellor reportedly put £30 of fuel in. Disclaimer: That’s not his car.

It appears he doesn’t know how to make contactless payments

In the hours after his statement, Sunak may have been hoping to be painted as a chancellor who does not recklessly spend money.

What he got was an image as a man who literally does not know how to spend money.

While trying to pay for a can of Coke, Sunak held his card not to the card reader, but to the barcode scanner.

‘We all have different breads in my house’

Asking politicians to name the price of everyday shop items is a trap as old as time. While mayor of London, Boris Johnson proudly admitted he didn’t know the price of milk.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Sunak was asked to name an item he’d noticed get more expensive. He said bread, and was asked which kind of bread he bought.

His reply: “It’s a Hovis kind of seeded thing. We have a whole range of different – we all have different breads in my house, a degree of healthiness between my wife, myself and my kids.”