Rishi Sunak and Piers Morgan place £1,000 bet on Rwanda Policy

Photo courtesy of 10 Downing Street

In an interview last Monday, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak agreed to a £1,000 bet that deportation flights to Rwanda would take off before the election. TalkTV’s Piers Morgan shook Rishi Sunak’s hand after suggesting the money would go to a refugee charity. 

The day after, Sunak asserted that he is “not a betting person and was taken totally by surprise in that interview” on BBC Radio 5Live. Despite insisting on not being a gambler, it was pointed out on social media that Sunak had previously spoken about the pleasures of online betting whilst working as a hedge fund manager. The Prime Minister said that he was trying to convey his “absolute commitment” to the policy and stressed his desire to push it through parliament. He stressed that the issue of tackling illegal migration was something he cared about deeply, telling Morgan “I want to get people on the planes”. 

The bet has since received a significant amount of negative backlash. The Scottish National Party has reported Sunak to the independent adviser on ministers’ interests, claiming that a breach of the ministerial code has been made over the “grotesque” bet. Kirsty Blackman, the party’s Cabinet Office spokeswoman, argued that it demonstrated how Westminister is completely out of touch with the values of the Scottish people. 

The Labour Party has said that it shows the PM to be “totally out of touch with working people”. The Liberal Democrat Home Affairs, Northern Ireland and Justice spokesperson Alistair Carmichael said that Sunak should “put his money where his mouth is on the soaring NHS backlog” rather than a “trashy bet”. 

£1000 exceeds the payments made to eligible households on benefits amidst the increasing financial pressures of the cost-of-living crisis. Sunak has dismissed any allegations that he is out of touch with the financial realities facing many households.