Sunak a “pound shop Boris Johnson”: Ten times the Conservatives have misled the public with dodgy figures

EMBARGO: Immediate release

The Liberal Democrats have published a dossier detailing 10 times the Conservatives have misled the public with dodgy figures, saying it showed Rishi Sunak has ended up as a “pound shop Boris Johnson.” 

Here are ten times they were found to have fiddled with the figures:

1. June 2024: the Treasury’s top official pushed back on the Conservatives’ tax claim.

2. May 2024: the Chancellor rebuked by the UKSA on tax-cutting claims after a demands from the Lib Dems that he comes clean.

3. January 2024: the Prime Minister was criticised by the UKSA over his claim to have “cleared” the asylum backlog in January, after a complaint by the Lib Dems.

4. December 2023: Rishi Sunak’s claim that debt was falling as a percentage of GDP, with the UKSA saying the comments ‘undermined trust’.

5. May 2023: Suella Braverman’s claim that there are 100 million people displaced around the world who could qualify for protection in the UK.

6. March 2023: Robert Jenrick’s claim that asylum claims were higher than ever.

7. May 2022: Nadine Dorries’ misrepresentation of the results of the consultation into the privatisation of Channel 4.

8. May 2022: the Prime Minister’s misleading use of employment statistics in PMQs.

9. February 2022: Boris Johnson and the Home Office’s misleading use of crime statistics.

10. May 2020: Matt Hancock’s claim in April 2020 that the Government had hit 100,000 coronavirus tests a day.

Liberal Democrat Treasury Spokesperson Sarah Olney said: 

“Rishi Sunak’s latest attempts to deceive the British public are nothing new. He has spent years hiking people’s taxes to record levels while claiming to cut them.

“Sunak promised to govern with integrity, but has ended up as a pound shop Boris Johnson.”

ENDS