How naive I was to think that Rishi Sunak would protect the poorest from the heaviest blows of the cost of living crisis
This was a great “levelling down”, with two-thirds of Rishi Sunak’s giveaways in his spring statement going to the top half of earners. At least the chancellor had the good grace to abandon the words “levelling up” and “net zero”, and he barely even mentioned “pensioners” as he impoverished the already poor while giving a little bonus to gas-guzzling SUV drivers.
Why be shocked? God knows how many Tory budgets and mini-budgets I have covered in a lifetime mostly ruled by Tory governments, yet still, somehow, I can be taken by surprise. The sheer naked venality still takes my breath away. Surely a chancellor wouldn’t choose to do the wrong things, knowingly, when he has the power to set the country in a better direction?
Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnist
