Rishi Sunak has dismissed questions about his wealth as he suggested it was his actions as prime minister, and “not how much is in my bank account”, that mattered.
The PM was grilled by Piers Morgan on TalkTV on Thursday as polling raised questions about his premiership after just 100 days.
One survey suggested he is less popular after the yardstick period in office than his five predecessors who made it that far.
Meanwhile, a Guardian report citing Labour Party focus groups suggested voters think Sunak’s vast wealth means he is “out of touch”.
Sunak is considered the richest MP in parliament, with a personal wealth of around £200 million.
His family’s finances came under intense scrutiny when he was chancellor, when the “non-dom” status of his wife Akshata Murty was revealed.
The arrangement reportedly saved her millions while the cost of living soared.
The fashion-designer billionaire’s daughter who married Sunak in 2009 is thought to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds and the couple made the Sunday Times Rich List in May, with a combined fortune of £730 million.
When Morgan asked Sunak how rich he is, Sunak replied that he was “financially fortunate”.
“Are you a billionaire?,” Morgan went on.
“I’m not going to get into that,” Sunak responded. “What matters about that is not how much is in my bank account, what matters are my values and the actions that I take.”
Sunak insisted he can get the economy growing again “this year” as he urged people to “have hope” that things will get better.
In the interview, the PM went through his five priorities, insisting he could get them done.
“Grow the economy, yes, I do believe over the course of this year we’ll get the economy growing again,” he said. “Reduce debt, We’ve already made some difficult decisions to ensure that that happens but we’ve got to stick to the path.”
Asked what his mantra or message to people is, Mr Sunak said: “It’s ‘have hope’. Have hope because I can make it better, and I will make it better.
“That’s what I’m working day and night to do.”