Why did Rishi Sunak donate $3m to a private school in California?
The News Agents
Global
4.1 • 5.4K Ratings
🗓️ 5 June 2023
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
MPs are allowed to donate however much they wish of their private money to whomever they chose.
In 2018, as per The Mirror, when Rishi Sunak was just an MP - the family donated more than 3 million dollars to a private tech college in California - previously attended by his wife.
Fast forward to 2023 where a primary school in his constituency has spent nearly a year fundraising to find 10k to buy school kids computers.
We talk to a mum who's been at the coalface of the bake sales and is wondering why she had to work so hard to drum up a fraction of Sunak's donation.
We also look at the narratives -loud and soft - coming out of Ukraine and ask if the military counter-offensive is finally underway.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The Newsagents podcast is brought to you by HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. |
| 0:08.5 | This is a global player original podcast. |
| 0:12.2 | Today on the Newsagents, we're going to hear from a mum. |
| 0:14.9 | She's got kids at Labour and Primary School in Richmond in North Yorkshire, |
| 0:19.0 | and she's spent a year trying to fundraise |
| 0:22.4 | to get some new computers for the kids at school. |
| 0:25.9 | We did a family funder |
| 0:27.5 | and asked locals to come along, bouncy castles and things |
| 0:31.1 | and we made quite a bit off that. |
| 0:33.7 | We'd done little bits throughout the year |
| 0:35.4 | like secret centres and things for the children at school. |
| 0:39.2 | 10,000 pounds she was trying to raise, and you heard what it took. A bit of Bake Sale, a bit of Secret Santa, a bouncy castle and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. |
| 0:51.0 | Wasn't so hard for another school. This is Claremont McKenna University in California. |
| 0:57.8 | Also wanted money for computers, except this time the MP for Richmond, North Yorkshire, |
| 1:05.1 | Rishi Sunak and his wife, who had studied there, just simply cut a cheque for $3.2 million. |
| 1:14.8 | That's the way to do fundraising. |
| 1:16.7 | Not a bouncy castle? |
| 1:18.1 | No bouncy castle in sight. |
| 1:20.2 | No bake sales anywhere near. |
| 1:21.9 | Not even a secret centre. |
| 1:23.1 | None. |
| 1:23.8 | Welcome to the newsagents. |
... |
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