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12 January 2022

Dishy Rishi ditches PM with dash to Devonshire countryside

Go to the most politically consequential PMQs of Boris Johnson’s premiership? No, thank you. Our nature-loving Chancellor travelled 225 miles to explore the seaside.

By The Chatterer

The Chatterer is convinced Rishi Sunak is the most fun-loving chancellor we’ve ever had. Forget boring things like addressing wage growth or participating in the proper functioning of our democracy, this Chancellor is busy thinking up jolly new ideas that meet the real needs of the nation. Remember, this is the merry merchant who gave us 50 per cent off at Nando’s!

Even today, while the Prime Minister was facing political humiliation in the Commons, dishy Rishi was too captivated by the beauty of the English countryside to attend. 

Go to the most politically consequential PMQs of Boris Johnson’s premiership? No, thank you. Our nature-loving Chancellor travelled 225 miles to the Devonshire seaside to explore the beautiful town of Ilfracombe and visit a vaccine factory. 

This isn’t the first surprisingly timed jolly Rishi has been on. Maybe you’ll say he should have led the government’s economic response to Omicron as the new variant tore through the country in December like a flood? But you’d be wrong. It was much better that our suave Chancellor (isn’t he suave?) was off visiting his tech bros in Silicon Valley. Have you not heard that he rides a Peloton and drinks one can of full-fat coke a week?

It is of course possible that Mr Sunak has calculated that associating himself with the impending catastrophe facing Boris Johnson would weaken his chances of replacing his boss and being crowned prime minister himself, hence the disappearing act. But maybe he’s just a fun guy who can’t tear himself away from tours of pharmaceutical companies. Who can say.

[See also: Boris Johnson is determined to cling on – and what else we learned from today’s PMQs]

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