Chancellor is mocked for wearing ‘teenage’ flip-flop footwear in pre-Budget photoshoot 

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Twitter users mocked Rishi Sunak last night for wearing £95 ‘teenage’ flip-flop footwear in a pre-Budget pictures by photoshopping clown feet over the American-style sandals – while some pointedly suggested the 41-year-old Conservative ‘act his age’. 

In glossy photos released by the Treasury, the Chancellor put finishing touches to his Budget while in socks and sporting the shoes, made by fashion label Palm Angels. Sliders are similar to flip flops but without a central toe post, and popular with teenagers.

Another photo showed a can of Sprite and a Twix next to his red box – after the teetotal Chancellor said he would eat the sugary snacks as his ‘pre-game routine’ for the Budget. A third image showed him reading on the sofa with his red fox labrador puppy Nova.

But social media users couldn’t help but share hilarious memes of what they thought was the Tory’s attempt to seem cool – with one person sharing a video clip of actor Steve Buscemi trying to look young and asking ‘how do you do, fellow kids?’. 

Mr Sunak is expected to declare later that Britain is ready to enter a ‘new age of optimism’ and a ‘post-Covid’ economy as he is handed a Budget day growth boost.

Official forecasts, set to be updated today, are expected to show the economy is rebounding faster than predicted – allowing the Chancellor to splash more cash. 

But the predictions will come with a sting in the tail as the threat of rising prices and worker shortages could put pressure on household finances.

Mr Sunak will hail his Budget as ushering in a ‘new economy’ after the pandemic as he confirms billions of pounds for the NHS and wage rises for millions of workers.

However, he will also stress the need for fiscal responsibility as he reveals a plan for bringing borrowing under control amid concerns about inflation and the threat of interest rate rises.

During his speech, Mr Sunak is expected to say: ‘Today’s Budget begins the work of preparing for a new economy post-Covid. An economy of higher wages, higher skills and rising productivity of strong public services, vibrant communities and safer streets.

‘An economy fit for a new age of optimism. That is the stronger economy of the future.’

The Office for Budget Responsibility will hand him upbeat forecasts, despite the looming threat of inflation. The easing of lockdown restrictions and the vaccine rollout mean the economy is in better shape than was expected at the time of the last Budget in March.

Growth forecasts for this year will be revised from 4 per cent to as high as 7.5 per cent – giving Mr Sunak more leeway to pump money into public services as he sets out spending plans for Whitehall departments for three years.

In the Budget today, Mr Sunak will confirm a rise of the minimum wage to £9.50 from April and the end of the pay freeze he imposed on public-sector workers.

He will also unveil a further £5.9billion in capital funding to help the NHS clear the backlog created by Covid-19.

The Treasury has pledged green investment and policies to take advantage of post-Brexit freedoms and has touted nearly £7billion of new funding for local transport.

Mr Sunak will also set out new fiscal rules, which are expected to include a commitment to stop borrowing to fund day-to-day spending within three years.

It is thought he will also require government debt, running at about 100 per cent of gross domestic product, to start falling by 2025.

Office for National Statistics figures showed last week government borrowing was far lower than forecast in the first half of the fiscal year. The budget deficit was £108.1billion between April and September, almost 30 per cent below predictions. However, Mr Sunak will strike a note of caution about how servicing the debt could become much dearer if prices rise.

In March, he pointed out that a 1 per cent rise in interest rates and inflation would cost us over £25billion, adding: ‘Over the medium term, we cannot allow debt to keep rising, and, given how high our debt now is, we need to pay close attention to affordability.’

Former Treasury minister David Gauke told Radio 4’s the World At One yesterday: ‘In the short term there is going to be some good news for the Chancellor as the economy has grown faster than projected.’ But he added: ‘There are still some real challenges.’

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves urged Mr Sunak to ‘take the pressure off working people’.

She added: ‘Labour would ease the burden on households, cutting VAT on domestic energy bills immediately for six months, and we would not raise taxes on working people and British businesses while online giants get away without paying their fair share.’

However, the Chancellor was reprimanded by MPs over a slew of pre-Budget policy media briefings made by the   Treasury ahead of the financial statement.

That approach has prompted repeated rebukes from Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, who is adamant all policy announcements should be made to politicians first.

Sir Lindsay, who has made a point of rebuking ministers for making announcements outside the Commons, criticised ministers over the approach yesterday and did the same again this afternoon after more fiscal details were briefed.

The Commons Speaker accused Mr Sunak and the Treasury of treating Parliament in a ‘discourteous manner’ as he vowed to do everything in his power to ensure ministers answer MPs’ questions.

Meanwhile, MPs on both sides of the chamber expressed their anger at the Government’s communications strategy, accusing ministers of ‘treating parliamentary democracy with utter contempt’.

It is the latest stand-off between the Speaker and ministers. In June, Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to make major Covid decisions to Parliament as well as to the nation on television after he was given a blunt telling off.

Sir Lindsay granted a second urgent question in two days to force Treasury ministers to appear in the Commons to answer questions on the forthcoming fiscal event.

He said the ministerial code states important announcements of Government policy should be made to Parliament first when it is in session.

Sir Lindsay told the Commons: ‘I was disappointed to see more stories in the media today with apparently very well-briefed information about what will be in tomorrow’s Budget.’

He accused the Government of treating the Commons in a ‘discourteous manner’, adding: ‘This House will not be taken for granted, it’s not right for everybody to be briefed, it’s not more important to go on the news in the morning, it’s more important to come here.’

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke defended the Government as he argued part of the objective in ‘trailing specific aspects of the Budget in advance is to help communicate to the public what we’re doing with their hard-earned money’.

Responding to a pre-Budget urgent question from Labour, he said: ‘The ability of Parliament to scrutinise the Government, including the Budget, is clearly crucial which is why we’ve got five days of parliamentary debate ahead of us this week and next and why the the Chancellor will be appearing in addition in front of two select committees of this House next week.’

He said the ‘bulk of the detail of the Budget’ will be set out by Mr Sunak in the Commons tomorrow.

He added: ‘Part of the Government’s objective in trailing specific aspects of the Budget in advance is to help communicate to the public what we’re doing with their hard-earned money because we believe there is merit in clear and accurate information.’

Mr Clarke faced criticism from both Labour and Tory MPs.

Conservative Julian Lewis asked the minister: ‘Why is it important, right or necessary to share Budget information with the media before it is shared with this House where it can be subjected to proper scrutiny? And will he give an undertaking on behalf of the Treasury team to stop doing it?’

Labour’s Angela Eagle added: ‘This is treating parliamentary democracy with utter contempt, and the minister should be completely ashamed of himself, he should have come to this House and apologised, his boss should have come to this House and apologised.’