Rishi Sunak dubbed a 'poundshop Nigel Farage' as he hits out at Labour-backing billionaires

Sunak dodged questions about whether he would welcome Farage into the Conservative Party after the election or work with Reform UK. Credit: LBC

Rishi Sunak has been labelled a "poundshop Nigel Farage" in a bruising radio phone-in - as he hit out at billionaires abandoning the Tories.Callers to LBC radio attacked the prime minister for his behaviour towards the trans community - likening him to the Reform UK leader - and being too rich to relate to food bank users.Mr Sunak rejected the claims while dodging questions on whether he would work with Nigel Farage or his party after the election.

And when asked about John Caudwell, Phones4U founder and a former major Tory donor, and Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe who threw their weight behind Sir Keir Starmer’s party, he replied: “They’re two of Britain’s richest men. They can probably afford Labour’s tax rises.”

The Conservatives seek to use tax as a key dividing issue and are stepping up attacks on Labour’s plans in a desperate bid to shift their double-digit poll deficit.

Cabinet minister Mel Stride said earlier this morning it was “completely wrong” of Mr Caudwell to have called Sunak an “absolute dud”, with the Work and Pensions Secretary pointing to official figures on Wednesday showing inflation falling back to the 2% target for the first time in nearly three years.

When questioned about whether he would work with Farage or Reform UK after the election, Mr Sunak replied: “I’m not focused on after the election. I’m focused on winning this election."

He gave the same answer when quizzed on reports that Tory leadership hopefuls are already vying to replace him as party leader after the election.

Amid persistently low poll ratings for the Conservatives, Sunak declined to give his campaign a mark out of 10, saying: “I’m not interested in those kinds of things.”

But Cabinet ministers have been ramping up warnings about a Labour landslide.

The Prime Minister was challenged on LBC by one man, who said he is gay and living with HIV, over his behaviour towards the trans community.

The caller said “I think you’ve become a poundshop Nigel Farage” and accused Sunak of being “obsessed with divisive culture wars”.

Sunak dodged questions about whether he would welcome Mr Farage into the Conservative Party after the election or work with Reform UK. Credit: PA

“I’m very sorry to hear you feel that way,” the Prime Minister said.

“I don’t believe that at all. I care very much about making sure people, whatever their background, are respected.”

He also said “sorry” that the Conservatives have been unable to abolish Section 21 so-called no-fault evictions despite promising to do so in their 2019 manifesto.

Sunak was also confronted over the explosion in the use of food banks, with a member of the public asking him: “How can a Prime Minister who is richer than the King relate to any of our needs and struggles?” When the Tory leader responded that he wants “to get the number down” and pointed to his work providing an “enormous amount of support to everyone” while chancellor during the pandemic, the caller said: “I think it’s an absolute lie that you supported people during Covid.” Sunak said he would not “apologise” for being “very fortunate in life”.

The Prime Minister is continuing his campaign tour with a visit to Suffolk on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Sir Keir and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves are hitting the campaign trail in Wiltshire.

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