Two thirds of voters say Rishi Sunak’s private jet habit is bad use of taxpayers' money

Rishi Sunak has used private jets and helicopters to zip around the UK more than any other Prime Minister

Two thirds of voters say Rishi Sunak’s private jet habit is a bad use of taxpayers’ money.

Some 66% don’t think it’s good value for the Prime Minister to take a private helicopter or jet to save time – including 56% of staunch Conservatives. The research by More in Common found some 66% of people intending to vote Conservative think it is “rarely” or “never” appropriate for politicians to travel domestically by plane, compared to 64% of the public. Meanwhile, more than half (52%) of voters believe those who fly by private jet should be charged more per flight in order to pay for green technologies.

Labour’s Rachel Reeves last year pledged to clamp down on ministers using private jets when they could get a regular flight. The Shadow Chancellor told Brits she wants “people to say ‘I can trust her with my money’.” Three quarters of the public back the plan, with just 5% thinking it a bad idea, the poll found.

Researchers warned that politicians’ use of private jets showed they were “out of touch” with people affected by the cost of living crisis. Panvi, from Surrey, told More in Common’s focus group: “[Rishi Sunak’s] been elected to represent people so he can’t be going around doing stuff that’s so out of touch with what everyone else is doing while people are waiting for cancelled trains or cancelled flights, and he’s just flying around.”

Ryan, from Surrey, suggested Mr Sunak was taking private jets because of his wealth. The PM and his wife Akshata Murty are the richest inhabitants of Downing Street in history with an estimated £520milllion fortune, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

“I don’t agree with flying across the country and it’s not something that previous prime ministers have had to rely on as much as he does,” Ryan said. “So it seems more of a wealth kind of element to it really than it being well inconvenience for him. But obviously money doesn’t come into it for him as it seems to me.”

During his time in Downing Street, Mr Sunak has used private jets and helicopters to zip around the UK more than any other Prime Minister. According to analysis last summer, the PM took one flight every eight days on average up to that point. Many of the journeys are very short, such as when he used a helicopter to visit Southampton, which would have taken just over an hour by train.

Ed Hodgson, research manager at More in Common, said: “Our polling and focus groups show that – even among some of those who otherwise support the Conservative Party – the public winces at the sight of Rishi Sunak’s private jet and helicopter use. At a time when the cost of living crisis is top of mind for the public, for many people private jet use by politicians is one of the clearest visual signs that our leaders are out of touch, and only adds to growing anti-elite sentiment in the country.

“Labour’s proposals to clamp down on ministerial jet use is clearly a popular idea from this perspective. It is also a necessary step for the Labour party to take if they want to be credible voices on aspects of the green transition that go beyond flying.”

More in Common interviewed 2,033 adults online in Great Britain between November 30-December 4 2023 for its report Europe Talks Flying published this week.