Martin Lewis cries ‘not once more’ over deliberate ‘misdirection’ utilizing his phrases

The well-respected finance guru and founder of the Money Saving Expert website, Martin Lewis, has cried out “not again!” after the Conservative Party posted another political advert featuring him in a clip. In the 22-second video, the personal finance expert appears to say that Labour is hiding policies from the public, something Mr Lewis called a “misdirection.”

Posted from Rishi Sunak’s Twitter account, the political ad cuts selectively from comments the Money Saving Expert made early in the general election campaign while co-presenting Good Morning Britain. Alongside the ad featuring Mr Lewis, the Prime Minister said: “Labour’s manifesto doesn’t tell you the full story. 14 hours to stop the Labour supermajority.”

The political ad misrepresenting what Mr Lewis said was posted on the eve of polling day, July 4, when the country will head to the ballot box for an election forecast to be a Tory wipeout. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called the governing party’s comments, which appear to be throwing in the towel on winning the election, a form of “voter suppression” and urged the public to not see the outcome of the election as a foregone conclusion.

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In the short clip, cut from a wider conversation about all party manifestos, Martin Lewis is quoted as saying: “I had a conversation with a senior member of the Labour Party, a private conversation as I do with both parties.

“The exact phrase they used with me was, when I asked about a particular policy, they said: ‘We are not putting it in our manifesto because I can’t commit we will do it, but it is my aim we will do it over the next parliament’.”

This selective quote was used to support the Conservative Party’s last attempt to stave off a political wipeout, which saw Department for Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride take to Radio 4 to say they were preparing for opposition. He said: “Tomorrow is likely to see the largest Labour landslide majority, the largest majority that this country has ever seen. Much bigger than 1997, bigger even than the National Government in 1931. What matters now is what kind of opposition we have.”

Over the years, Martin Lewis has had to repeatedly alert his followers to scams that have used his name and face to imply that he was endorsing a certain product. But this is now the second time since the election was called that the personal finance guru has had to call out Britain’s ruling party for engaging in similar tactics.

Taking to Twitter, Mr Lewis was quick to distance himself from the Conservative advert. He said: “Not again! I have NOT given my permission to be used in political adverts. This is NOT an endorsement by me in any way. I maintain strict party neutrality and am unhappy at the weaponising of my reputation in this way.

“While this isn’t as bad as the first terrible representation – which said this about tax – there’s still a misdirection. As I’ve already stated, in that private conversation I was referring to Labour hoping to make a positive change I’ve been campaigning for, but it didn’t want to lock it in the manifesto as it can’t promise to deliver.

“NO party’s manifesto tells the full story. ALL parties have things they hope to do but that aren’t in manifestos – as they can’t guarantee to deliver. The idea that Labour is an outlier for that is preposterous.”