Tax-raising chancellor Rishi Sunak will be splashing out a whopping £13,000 on heating for his brand-new swimming pool, it was reported.
As part of his luxury lifestyle, the Tory MP is building a pool, tennis courts and a gym at his £1.5 million Grade II-listed mansion in his North Yorkshire constituency.
April’s rise in energy costs this month means his bill for heating is also going up by some £3,500 a year.
Responding to the revelation, Labour MP Rachel Maskell told the Mirror: ‘Could a Tory chancellor be any more out of touch if they tried?
‘He may have now given up his US green card but as far as most people are concerned Rishi Sunak is living on another planet.’
Some of Mr Sunak’s Richmond constituents also branded the size of the bill as ‘disgusting’.
One trader in the market town called for his fancy swimming pool to be ‘filled up with mud’.
Retired shop worker Pauline Porter also said: ‘It is disgusting, especially in these times. They have no idea how normal people live. They just don’t care.’
According to British Gas, the average energy bill for a three-bedroom home under the new price cap is £1,970.57 per year.
This means the politician can afford to pay six times more just to heat his pool.
With an estimated £200 million to his name, Mr Sunak probably won’t feel the difference.
But the same cannot be said for the 1.3 million Brits set to sink even deeper into poverty and debt next year amid the cost-of-the-living crisis.
Waitress Ashley Blakey, 35, a single mum-of-two who lives in Darlington – where the Treasury will be moving some of its offices this spring – also criticised the MP.
She told the Sunday People: ‘It really annoys me that he has disposable income of £13,000 to simply heat his swimming pool when there are single parents, pensioners and working families who will freeze next winter.
‘It’s not on. He has so much say over everyone’s lives but I bet he has never been in this position himself.’
Further controversy about the ex-banker’s expenditure also comes amid recent rows over his family’s tax affairs.
Two weeks ago, it was revealed that his wife, fashion designer Akshanta Murty, potentially saved ‘tens of millions of pounds’ thanks to her non-domicile tax status.
Both also faced backlash for keeping their US green cards after returning to the UK.
Mr Sunak and Ms Murty bought their gated country manor near Northallerton in 2015 and have since been granted planning permission for a number of improvements like a 12-metre by five-metre swimming pool and four showers.
Between them, they own properties in London, Yorkshire and California.
Metro.co.uk has contacted Mr Sunak for a comment.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.