British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced criticism on Saturday for appearing out of touch with ordinary people when he asked a homeless man at a charity if he “worked in business” and wanted to enter the financial industry.
Sunak, a former Goldman Sachs banker and one of Britain’s richest men, was serving breakfast at a homeless shelter in London on Friday when he started talking to a man who identified himself as Dean.
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“Do you work in business?” The Prime Minister asked the man at one point during the speech.
“No, I’m homeless. I’m really homeless,” the man replies.
Opposition Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner tweeted a clip of the exchange, calling it “disturbing”, while fellow Labor lawmaker Bill Esterson called Sunak “out of touch”.
“Do you work in business?”
“No, I’m homeless. I’m a homeless person.”
painfulpic.twitter.com/mtd9pYBOt0
— Angela Rayner 🌹 (@AngelaRayner) December 24, 2022
His promotion to the British Premiership in October made Sunak the richest person in Number 10 Downing Street at a time when the country is struggling with the cost of living.
The Prime Minister made a surprise phone call to British diplomats and military personnel this week to wish them Christmas, his office announced on Friday.
His awkward exchange with the homeless man began when the man asked Sunak if he was “separating the economy.”
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When the homeless man said he was interested in business and finance, Sunak also worked in finance before asking, “Is that something you want to go into?” he replied.
“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Dean says. “But, I don’t know, I want to get through Christmas first.”
