Martin Lewis slams Tories for misusing his comments as he cries 'not again'

Known by millions for his sage financial advice, the Money Saving Expert website founder Martin Lewis has said "not again!" after the Conservative Party used him in a political campaign ad. The 22-second clip suggests that Labour is concealing policies from the electorate, a claim Mr Lewis has called "misdirection."

Shared via Rishi Sunak's Twitter account, the advert takes snippets from remarks made by the personal finance guru while he was co-presenting Good Morning Britain. Accompanying the video featuring Mr Lewis, the Prime Minister tweeted: "Labour's manifesto doesn't tell you the full story. 14 hours to stop the Labour supermajority."

The political advertisement, branded "preposterous" by the financial journalist, was released on the eve of polling day, July 4, as the nation prepares to vote in what polls have predicted could be a devastating election for the Tories. Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has slammed the incumbent party's seemingly defeatist stance as a tactic of "voter suppression" and urged voters not to treat the election result as inevitable, reports the Mirror.

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In the short clip, taken from a broader discussion about the manifestos of various parties, Martin Lewis says: "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 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.

Reacting swiftly on Twitter, Mr Lewis emphatically distanced himself from the Conservative advert. His statement read: "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."