Nick Ferrari Says: Rishi faces different mood music

25 March 2022, 17:04 | Updated: 25 March 2022, 17:14

By Nick Ferrari

@NickFerrariLBC

It is one of the best feelings out there when you find a long-lost tenner tucked inside a pocket of jacket that you have not worn in ages.

We can only speculate about if ultra slimline Rishi Sunak has experienced such a thrill and frankly looking at the snug fit of his suits a crumpled fiver would stick out like a protruding flag pole.

Last week the Chancellor found himself with an unexpected £20 to £30 billion boost to play with due to the increase in the price of fuel and gas plus other VAT takings and a better than anticipated bounce back following the economic woes of the pandemic.

And the choice before him was plain.

He could use it to provide much needed relief to those on lower incomes by slashing the National Insurance rise, reinstate the uplift in benefit payments and set up a hardship fund for those who cannot afford their energy biils.

Or he could simply stash it away for the proverbial rainy day.

Did he make the right choice?

Well, we are now living with the biggest tax burden since the Second World War and about to take the biggest hit in living standards since the 1950s.

The stark choice of 'heat or eat' has become a horrible reality for thousands of people and struggling pensioners on fixed incomes were ignored.

There was no financial help for people hit by the rising energy bills and the temporary cut in tax for petrol and diesel fails lamentably below the increase the government is reaping in increased tax hikes.

Little wonder there is growing resentment on the Conservative backbenches. Jittery Tory MPs - many in their seats for the first time - are increasingly finding their voice and saying it simply wasn't good enough.

With some justification, Sunak points to global events like the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine that has knocked every economy off kilter.

Once hailed for his seemingly endless generosity through the furlough programmes and "Eat Out to Help Out", the Chancellor seemed to ignore the plight of the households while the extra cash rolls in.

I guess we will have to wait and see if "Nouveau Rishi" will turn into "So Long Sunak".