Labour politician uses one of Trump's favourite phrases to criticise Nadhim Zahawi

A Labour politician used a phrase popularised by Donald Trump to criticise Nadhim Zahawi amid his ongoing tax row.

Speaking on the BBC's Question Time, Mayor of West Yorkshire Tracy Brabin said we need to "drain the swamp" and root out people in a "corrupt" Tory party.

Speaking about Zahawi, she said: "He's being investigated by the department that he was leading as chancellor and what you've got is a party that is corrupt and we've just got to just drain the swamp.

"We've got to get back to some sort of level where the public are treated with respect because the people who represent them live like them, not disconnected in the way that we're seeing."

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The phrase "drain the swamp" has been used throughout political history including by Ronald Reagan as a metaphor to deal with corruption.

The term comes from when malaria was a problem in the US and Europe and draining of swamps helpt kept mosquito populations low by killing them.

But it has become associated with former president Trump in recent years as he used in repeatedly during his election campaign, speaking about issues in Washington DC including lobbying.

Brabin's use of the phrase comes after Zahawi confirmed he had made a payment to settle a dispute with HMRC over shares in YouGov.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has asked his independent ethics adviser to look into Zahawi's tax affairs, saying there were "questions that need answering" over the case.

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