Sunak says voters will decide whether he is out of touch after heated pool row

Rishi Sunak has insisted voters will “make up their own minds” if they consider him out of touch following criticism of his luxury private swimming pool.

The Prime Minister visited Darlington in the North East on Friday as he campaigns for the Tories in the run-up to the May local elections.

He sought to focus on funding to fix potholes but faced questions over reports his heated pool uses so much energy that the local electricity network had to be upgraded.

Pressed by local broadcasters on whether that makes him out of touch, the Prime Minister insisted he had taxed the windfall profits of oil companies to ease energy bills.

“People can make up their own minds if that support is sufficient enough,” he added, describing the support the Government provided as “enormous”.

“I want people to feel better off, I want to put more money in their pockets, we’re only going to be able to do that if we get inflation down.”

Last week, Mr Sunak released a summary of his tax return, showing he earned around £4.8 million over the last three years.