Sunak asks a homeless man if he works in business

I’d already read about this when I saw the footage on TV. I cringed on seeing it. Just a total embarrassment.

Far be it for me to defend Sunak, but this is being portrayed by the media as something its not.

Dean (the homeless man) says improving the economy would be good for business. Sunak asks him if he works in business.

Dean says he is interested in finance. After a chat about finance, about 30 seconds later Sunak asks him if its something he'd like to get into.

www.msn.com/en-gb/video/money/rishi-sunak-asks-homeless-man-if-he-works-in-business/vi-AA15Dzd2

Agree with Volver.
Mr Sunak seemed to be taking a genuine interest in the person he was talking with.
You can rely on the press to cast the worst light possible on a situation rather than giving a fair account of an actual event.

Thanks for the clarification volver, so Sunak was neither out of touch or tactless. Good to know.

Volver is spot on 👏

Thank you volver for context.

I saw this too volver and felt exactly the same - and I'm no "defender of Sunak" either.

Why can't we have accurate reporting? Because for some reason we seem to be unable to take in and process nuance.
We need all headlines to be dummed down or concentrated into a simple black/white message.

Exactly volver! Another comment taken out of context, as I’d guessed. This type of reporting creates so much damage.

volver is right.

I think Sunak - like many in the Tory party - is out of touch. But this kind of news reporting is shameful. Taking the comment completely out of the context of the conversation they were having. The homeless man indicated an interest in the economy, and a conversation developed, during which Sunak treated the man like an intelligent human being rather than "oh-you-poor-man-what-would-you-know-about-business-and-the-economy".

... and not all homeless people are from the same background of poverty, instability, etc.

What Dickens said. It's getting to the stage where you really don't know how much reporting is accurate. Dangerous...

Wheniwasyourage it is dangerous.
Media reports are like statistics. They can be manipulated to demonstrate whichever point you’re making.

Rishi is almost in the same league as Marie Antoinette.

The press just love stirring it up, don't they.

Margs

Rishi is almost in the same league as Marie Antoinette.

Do you mean he's a bit out of his depth and the mob press are determined to twist what he says to paint him as even worse than he really is, just to get their own way?

Yes, probably.

It still finishes up with the homeless man saying he just wants to get through Christmas first. "Have you got any plans?" asks Rishi. The obvious answer is "Well trying not to die of hypothermia" Does he realise that a homeless person is going to find almost impossible to get a job as a cleaner, never mind "Business"

Has it ever been documented that Marie Antoinette responded to the desperation of the starving serfs/peasants with "well, let them eat cake"?

And which coutier was brave enough to point out to her just how bad things were?

Margs, someone’s remote ancestor’s next-door neighbour, who knew someone who was married to someone who went for a drink with someone who knew someone who worked in the place kitchen heard it from one of the footmen who was going out with a chambermaid who thought that was what she heard it whilst running the royal bath.
So of course it’s true!

I still do not believe that he understands most people's lives. I accept my bias will make me lean in that direction. Maybe some of you, who leapt to his defence, are swayed by your own bias.

Where does your information come from? Mine comes from watching it on video where he is using a homeless centre as a PR opportunity. That will, I accept, seem reasonable to some.

He asked if the man worked in Finance, to which Steve replied, "I'm homeless". I felt Steve sounded taken aback by the question. However, we will all have an interpretation of this. They did follow this with a chat about both of them having once worked in Finance. Fairly obviously, that had different outcomes for each of them.

His ability to empathise seems to be the issue. To empathise, you have to have some ability to understand. This event was similar to Sunak having difficulty paying for petrol having filled up someone else's car. Presumably, he is used to getting his on "account". I think these stunts show him to have very little understanding when trying to use other people's lives.

The Tory client media did a speedy job of, shall we say, realigning the facts. Dan Hodges of the Mail charged in with "I'm told the place where Rishi Sunak was helping out doesn't just provide support for those who are currently homeless." ... but this man was homeless. Sunak had promoted the visit as one where he could hear specifically from the homeless.

I feel there is a gap in any possible comprehension and empathy. Maybe I have leapt to a biased conclusion. Maybe, some of you have. I shall wait to see. But Sunak in election mode, trying to glad-hand those in poverty will, I feel, not be pleasant watching.

I suppose it doesn’t help that he’s does. photo shoots eg filling up a car with petrol that wasn’t even his and then didn’t know how to use a chip and pin card. Holds glasses of beer looking like one of the lads even though he obviously doesn’t drink. And there’s the classic interview with him when he was young where he pointed out that he didn’t have any working class friends. Johnson was good at pretending to be a man of the people even though he wasn’t but Sunak can’t do that. Although, to be fair to him, he wouldn’t treat his social inferiors in the way that Johnson has over the years.

Yeah, Harold Wilson was good at pretending to be a working class man too, with the pipe and the glass of beer.
Sunak not so good at it.
It would be be nice if he helped Steve!

Who's Steve?

When I defend Scotland, I'm told I'm an SNP Supporter.

When I defend the Unions, I'm far left.

When I defend Sunak, I'm a right winger.

Could it be that I just like to see things reported correctly, whoever they are talking about?

DaisyAnne, what you describe is not what happened at the encounter between Dean and Sunak. Please note that the "homeless man" has a name and you could use it, if you wanted to. His name's not Steve.

volver

Who's Steve?

Do keep up!
Steve is the person addressed by Sunak in the event referred to in the OP.

Listen again.