Rishi Sunak wears £750 backpack to one in every of nation’s poorest areas

On May 29, 2024

Rishi Sunak wore a £750 backpack as he headed to one of the poorest areas of the country on the campaign trail.

The PM was spotted with a luxury Tumi bag monogrammed with his initials “RS” as he got on the train to Cornwall. Mr Sunak took the sleeper service to Penzance as he took the Conservative Party campaign to the South West of England.

The backpack is thought to be the Tumi Arrive Bradley backpack that was sold for £750 in high-end stores including Selfridges.

After he arrived in Cornwall, Mr Sunak faced questions about why he’s taking levelling up funds away from the county to pay for his National Service plan. The scheme could deprive some of the UK’s poorest areas of cash for community safety and high street regeneration.

Rishi Sunak gets on the sleeper train to Cornwall

Areas like Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales, Cornwall and the Tees Valley are among the areas with the most to lose from closing the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and using £1.5billion to pay for National Service instead, according to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

But Mr Sunak insisted he is “absolutely committed” to levelling up in Cornwall. According to the IFS, the UKSPF is worth £145 per person in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Mr Sunak has a history of flaunting his wealth on the campaign trail. In July 2022, he wore £490 Prada suede shoes on a visit to a building site as he was trying to become Tory leader. The millionaire donned the brown loafers as he toured the Teesside Freeport. While wearing the shoes, he told Teesside Live: “I know things are tough and people are feeling anxious about how they’re going to pay these bills.”

The bag sold for £750 at high-end stores such as Selfridges

Mr Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty are the richest inhabitants of Downing Street in history. Their combined £651million fortune put them above the King on the list of the wealthiest people in the country. It is driven largely by Ms Murty’s stake in Infosys. an Indian IT company her father founded.

Earlier this month, Mr Sunak issued a “fulsome apology” to the Adidas Samba community after he was mocked for posting a photo of himself wearing the trainers. The PM was ridiculed for wearing them with suit trousers and a white shirt.

The magazine Dazed wrote: “Rishi has killed Sambas”, while GQ asked: “Can Rishi Sunak leave the Adidas Samba alone, please?”

Asked about “destroying the fashion icon” on LBC, Mr Sunak said: “Well, I issue a fulsome apology to the Samba community. But in my defence I would say I have been wearing Adidas and Sambas and others, in fact, for many, many years. It’s the first pair my brother got for me many, many years ago. [I got] my first pair of fun Adidas trainers as a Christmas present and I haven’t looked back since so I’ve been a long-time devotee.”