Rishi Sunak has been described as “robotic” after an awkward exchange over local election losses.
Sky News’ Beth Rigby asked the prime minister how it felt to be one of “life’s winners” but to lose.
It follows a disastrous set of local election results which saw the Tories lose more than 1,000 council seats across England.
Asked about his party’s performance during a trip to Japan for a G7 summit, the prime minister struggled to answer.
Rigby said: “You’re one of life’s success stories, you were head boy at school, you had a career in finance that made you very wealthy, now you’re prime minister. How do you feel when you lose?”
A baffled Sunak replied: “Sorry?”
Rigby repeated the question: “How do you feel when you lose?”
Sunak, still confused, asked: “How do you mean, Beth?”
Rigby said: “Well, you are a winner in life. How do you feel when you don’t win?”
The prime minister dodged the question and said his aim was to “deliver for the country”.
Setting out his vow to halve inflation, cut waiting lists, grow the economy, bring down debt and stop small boats crossing the Channel, he added: “All I’m doing every day is focused on delivering for people against those five priorities.”
Rigby later described another part of the interview, in which they discussed migration, as “frustrating”.
And on Sunak’s local election comments, she added: “The prime minister just reverted to repeating his five point plan, not really engaging in the question, becoming almost robotic in some of the answers to difficult questions.
“And I guess the issue for him is that after seven months in power, whatever he’s promising the British people or coming across to them, it seems to be falling somewhat on deaf ears if you take the ballot box test at face value.”