Cafe on Sunak's campaign trail offers discount if customers tell PM to leave

06 January 2024 , 19:47

1129     0

The PM has been visiting towns in the North and East Midlands as he ramps up campaigning (Image: Getty Images)

Cafe owners annoyed by Rishi Sunak’s electioneering offered customers a discount if they told the PM to “go home.”

The Prime Minister visited Buxton in Derbyshire on Thursday as he toured the north, ramping up campaigning ahead of this year’s election. But some locals were not pleased to see Mr Sunak’s motorcade drive through the spa town.

The Hargreaves Cafe, round the corner from the Crescent hotel where Mr Sunak was meeting with local Tories, posted the offer on their Instagram page. It read: “PM Rishi Sunak visited Buxton this weekend. As we wave him goodbye and his austerity policies, all customers who say “go home Rishi” at the counter will get an extra 5% discount this weekend.”

The jibe comes after Mr Sunak and his entourage were booed as they campaigned in Stockport, Greater Manchester. Residents shouted “resign”, “leave now” and “Sunak out” at the PM as he left a cafe in the town centre on Friday.

Asked why he shouted at Mr Sunak, one of the hecklers told the Manchester Evening News: "Because they've broken the country haven't they? Public services crumbling, health service is crumbling, economy crumbling. We've had enough of them."

Teachers, civil servants and train drivers walk out in biggest strike in decade

The Instagram post published by the Hargreaves Cafe

Two-thirds of the public want Mr Sunak to call a general election by the summer and cast their verdict on almost 14 years of Tory rule. But the PM said this week it is his "working assumption" that he would trigger the vote for the "second half of this year". He was accused of "squatting" in Downing Street by his political opponents.

The location of the meeting at La Dolce Vita Restaurant was in the Hazel Grove constituency, which has been held by Conservative MP William Wragg since May 2015. The seat is a marginal one for the Tories, with a majority of just 4,423 won at the 2019 general election.

The PM is said to prefer meeting voters in intimate question-and-answer sessions, which are likely to shut out newspaper reporters and broadcasters. Some in No 10 are reportedly frustrated that Mr Sunak has not been getting praise for what they see as progress on the economy, with the PM now focusing on this as he makes his case to voters.

Mikey Smith