Rishi Sunak bragging about working to divert funding from “deprived urban areas” towards more prosperous towns has divided Tory figures, with Labour labelling it as “scandalous”.
The Tory leadership hopeful told party members that he had started changing public funding formulas to ensure more prosperous towns receive “the funding they deserve”.
The New Statesman magazine, which obtained video footage revealing Mr Sunak’s remarks, said they were made to grassroots Tories in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, on July 29.
In the video, Mr Sunak told Tory supporters: “I managed to start changing the funding formulas, to make sure areas like this are getting the funding they deserve because we inherited a bunch of formulas from Labour that shoved all the funding into deprived urban areas and that needed to be undone.
“I started the work of undoing that.”
The former chancellor has been dubbed the “reverse Robin Hood” following the comments.
Here’s a pick of the reaction:
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