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Rishi Sunak has said his Wednesday budget will be characterised by “honesty and fairness” in a new promotional video that has been mocked by opponents.
The slick taxpayer-funded clip runs for more than five minutes and includes an interview with the chancellor and a dramatic soundtrack.
Mr Sunak says that support for people during the Covid-19 crisis is “not going to stop” as he looks back over the past year in office.
The video was ridiculed by opposition MPs, with shadow health minister Jonathan Ashworth joking “the ego has landed”.
Labour MP Chris Lesley accused Mr Sunak of being “vain”, while his colleague Darren Jones asked if there is another “leadership election” in the Conservative Party. “I can’t keep up…,” he added.
“One year ago I was preparing for my first ever Budget,” the chancellor says in the video. “A lot has happened since then, but the promises that underpin our plan remain unchanged.”
Some observers counted more than 100 shots of Mr Sunak in the film, which is intercut with footage of the year’s events and a dramatic soundtrack.
Labour MP Karin Smyth noted the video did not include any footage of the chancellor launching his Eat out To Help Out scheme, which subsidised diners to go to restaurants in the weeks before the UK’s second wave of Covid infections.
She said: “Seems the images of him waiting tables didn’t make the final cut, or indeed any acknowledgement of the appalling loss of life in late autumn/winter.”
Mr Sunak was given the job by prime minister Boris Johnson after his predecessor as chancellor, Sajid Javid, quit in February 2020 rather than agreeing to demand to fire his closest aides.
He delivered his first Budget after less than a month in office and just weeks before coronavirus forced a national lockdown.
Mr Sunak said he could not sleep before the launch of the furlough scheme and described the “amazing moment” when the first Covid-19 vaccine was approved.
In the video, Mr Sunak said he wanted young people not to be a “generation scarred by coronavirus” but the “kickstart generation” – a reference to his programme to help them into work.
He also used the video to indicate that coronavirus support schemes would be extended as the country begins to exit lockdown.
“Throughout this crisis I have always been determined to make sure the government is doing what it can to provide support to get through this enormously difficult time and that’s not going to stop,” he said.
“People should be reassured that we are going to continue to be there to support them as we get through this difficult period and emerge – hopefully, stronger – on the other side.”
Mr Sunak praised the “spirit of resilience” shown by the British people and promised: “At the heart of this Budget will be honesty and fairness – honesty about our situation, both in the short term where we are still grappling with coronavirus and we want to keep providing support, but also honesty about our long term with the exciting opportunities we have to drive new growth across the country.”
But he was challenged online by self-employed workers and freelancers who have missed out on support from the government’s schemes.
Twitter user Craig Hazell said: “Lovely video. Now what about the millions of us you (excluded) when you promised we wouldn’t be forgotten.”
The ExcludedUK campaign has been calling for Mr Sunak to address gaps in his support schemes.
Additional reporting by Associated Press
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