Rishi Sunak takes swipe at Boris Johnson ally over claims he will move to the US
"My kids are at school. This is my home."
Rishi Sunak has dismissed claims he will cut and run from the UK if he loses the upcoming general election.
The Prime Minister declared he is “deeply committed to making people’s lives better”.
Lord Zac Goldsmith, a close ally of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was among those to claim that Mr Sunak will “disappear off to California” within weeks if the Conservatives lose the election.
And the Conservatives' leader said: “I’m surprised that Lord Goldsmith, who I don’t think I’ve spoken to in a very long time, had such intimate knowledge of my family’s arrangements."
The Tories are trailing Labour by 20 points, with voters set to go to the polls on July 4.
When asked if he would remain as an MP for the whole of the next Parliament if he loses to Sir Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak said: “My kids are at school. This is my home. My football team just got promoted to the Premier League so I intend to spend many more happy occasions at Saint Mary’s watching them. So of course that’s what I’m going to do. That’s what I have done.
“I was brought up in Southampton. I was raised with a very strong ethic of service to one’s community. That’s what I believe. That’s what I’ve always done. That’s why I got into politics. That’s why I became a member of parliament and that’s what I will continue to do.
“That is obviously subjective on my constituents giving me the honour of continuing to represent them.”
Rishi Sunak tried his hand at dribbling and took part in drills at Chesham United football ground alongside young players on a Monday afternoon campaign visit.
Mr Sunak attempted dribbling practice alongside four different age groups: under-eights, under-nines, under-11s and under-16s.
"Did we win?" he asked the group of players he had joined after the whistle blew. "No," one of them replied.
Tory peer Lord Goldsmith, an ally of former prime minister Boris Johnson, hit out at Mr Sunak and indicated he believed the Conservatives were on course for an electoral disaster.
"I understand the anger towards Sunak who has damaged the party almost beyond repair and all but guaranteed the majority of his MPs will lose their job next month," the former minister said.
"But it's hard to muster much sympathy given that none of this would have happened without the complicity of a majority of the party and what is now unfolding was entirely predictable - indeed predicted.
"The hope is that when Sunak disappears off to California in a few weeks there are at least some decent MPs left around which to rebuild."
