Rishi Sunak asked why he “hates pensioners” in a brutal Loose Women interview

Rishi Sunak faced a pointed question during a very special edition of ITV’s Loose Women as the Prime Minister was slammed by panelist Janet Street-Porter over the Spring Budget. During the heated interview, which took place on Thursday 16 May, Janet highlighted that pensioners appear to have fared poorly under the Tory government, especially after warnings from economists following the Spring Budget.

In a direct attack, she went on to question why he “hated pensioners”. The unexpected question came as the panelist admitted that Sunak was a “decent man” with his “heart in the right place”, before brutally pressing him: “Why do you hate pensioners?”

She claimed the only conclusion she could draw from the Spring Budget was that it was negative for pensioners, noting the minimal impact of a 4p cut in National Insurance for non-payers. She continued her criticism by highlighting poverty levels among pensioners, with around two million struggling, particularly those in private housing.

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Janet then suggested that under the Conservatives, and particularly under Sunak’s watch, pensioners may have ended up worse off. Highlighting the financial struggles of senior citizens, she noted that many take on extra work to afford simple luxuries or social outings, but face tax on any earnings above £1,000 a year, questioning the fairness of this situations, the Mirror reports.

In a staunch defence, the Prime Minister insisted he cared “deeply” about pensioners and underlined the Tories’ commitment to maintaining the state pension triple lock. He said: “A lot of people criticize us for this (triple lock). But we protected him and that means his state pension has just now gone up by £900.’

In March, the Resolution Foundation reported that all eight million pensioners would face an average tax rise of £1,000 by 2027/28 because of the freeze on income tax thresholds.

When panellist Jane Moore asked Mr Sunak if he would stand down as an MP if the Tories were defeated in the general election later this year, he was firm about his commitment, saying: “Of course I’m staying. I love being an MP, I love my constituents, I love my home of North Yorkshire.”

He also dropped a hint about the timing of the election, suggesting to the panel that it might be “good for your holiday”.

Acting shadow work and pensions secretary Alison McGovern slammed the government, saying: “The Tories have failed pensioners. They crashed the economy, broke the Triple Lock during a cost of living crisis and put pensioners’ living standards at risk with a £46 billion unfunded black hole.”