Rishi Sunak needs to leverage trust on world stage to win over public back home

Published

2 years ago

May 17, 2023

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The prime minister arrived back in Downing Street at 2am on Wednesday morning after a dash to the Council of Europe summit in Iceland to seek more support from European allies on illegal migration.

Seven hours later, Rishi Sunak was back in the air heading to the G7 summit in Japan.

In the plane huddle with journalists shortly after take-off – clutching a Number 10-branded mug of tea – the PM was in good spirits as he spoke of the importance of using this round of global talks with world leaders to discuss driving economic growth, support for Ukraine and presenting a united front on China.

Swapping his typical suit and tie for an unbuttoned white shirt and blue chinos, Mr Sunak appeared relaxed in the midst of an intense week.

But make no mistake about it, this is a leader under intense pressure.

Faced with his first test at the ballot box since becoming leader, the PM has failed.

Seat losses exceeded the Conservatives’ worst nightmare with 1,063 councillors gone, and the projected national vote share is bumping along the Tories’ worst ever performance at local elections – putting Sir Keir Starmer and Labour into Downing Street.

And now, the dissent is beginning to bubble up as colleagues, faced with the prospect of electoral oblivion, lash out.

Speaking at the Conservative Democratic Organisation conference, Priti Patel told activists that “leadership errors cost us dearly in the local elections”, as she pointedly praised Boris Johnson.

Meanwhile, on the eve of Mr Sunak’s trip to the G7, his predecessor Liz Truss has turned up in Taiwan to reiterate her view that the threat of China is being underplayed by the UK government.

Shadow-boxing on foreign policy and doing it in a territory of such sensitivity to Beijing is unhelpful, to say the least (although one government observer gave a little punch back, remarking that a visit from Ms Truss was “not as significant as Nancy Pelosi”).

If the pressure is getting him, the prime minister did a good job of hiding it in the press huddle.

When it came to Ms Truss’ visit, Mr Sunak said he hadn’t “seen the details” of her trip as he reiterated the government position as being “completely aligned in substance and in language with all our allies” when it came to Taiwan.

“We have a very strong, unofficial relationship with Taiwan as our allies do,” he added. “I think that our position is united and aligned with our allies, and will continue.”

But in the backdrop of this summit, there isn’t quite a united front from the G7 when it comes to the approach to China.

President Biden has committed to defending Taiwan should China invade, whilst on a trip to China last month, President Macron warned that Europe should not get “caught up in crises that are not ours”.

The hope from the British camp is that the allies can agree China policy is focused on “de-risking” and not “decoupling” – this is European Commission president Ursula von de Leyen’s approach – as a compromise between President Macron’s position and President Biden’s more hawkish angle.

But what the PM really wants to do with this summit – and the Council of Europe summit too – is to get tangible wins back home to push through his five-point plan in the run-up to the general election.

Because economic co-operation on a global stage gives him better hope that he can turn around the UK economy, end the cost of living crisis, halve inflation and bring in tax cuts before the next election.

Meanwhile, agreeing with Ms von der Leyen to develop a new working relationship between their respective border security agencies – this came out of the Reykjavik summit on Tuesday – helps the PM with his pledge to stop small boats crossings and cut down on illegal migration.

Miles behind Labour in the polls – the latest polling has Starmer 17 points in front – winning on the economy and being seen to at least make inroads on the matter of illegal migration is the only hope Mr Sunak has to claw back ground before the next general election, and he seems to genuinely believe there are signs of optimism.

When quizzed about the Institute of Fiscal Studies prediction that the UK’s tax burden won’t get back to pre-COVID levels for decades, the PM clearly thinks the independent think tank is too pessimistic.

“The IFS will make its own estimates,” he said. “What I would say is recently we’ve seen massive upgrades in our growth estimates from the Bank of England and others.

“You can see that in surveys…optimism is increasing, consumer confidence is increasing. On disposable income if you look at the most recent set of numbers, they are hugely outperforming what people thought.”

The PM is convinced that “things are moving in the right direction” and making it very clear, again, that he is a “low-tax Conservative” who “wants to bring people’s taxes down”.

Having reset the UK’s relations with key allies after the difficult Johnson and Truss periods, now Mr Sunak needs to leverage all he can get to bank wins for him back home.

This is a prime minister who is showing on the world stage he is a trusted and well-regarded ally, but he seems further than ever away from sealing the deal with the British public after six months in office, and with time running out.

World

Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney named prime minister of Canada – succeeding Justin Trudeau

Published

5 hours ago

March 10, 2025

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Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney named prime minister of Canada - succeeding Justin Trudeau

Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has been named Canadian prime minister after winning the Liberal Party leadership race in a landslide victory.

Mr Carney, who also used to be the head of Canada’s central bank, emerged as the frontrunner in the contest as the country deals with the impact of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump.

He ended up winning 85.9% of the vote.

During his victory speech, he told the crowd: “Donald Trump, as we know, has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell and how we make a living.

“He’s attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses and we cannot let him succeed and we won’t.”

Mr Carney said Canada would keep retaliatory tariffs in place until “the Americans show us respect”.

Mr Trump’s tariffs against Canada and his talk of making the country America’s 51st state have infuriated Canadians.

The American national anthem has been repeatedly booed at NHL and NBA games.

“Think about it. If they succeeded, they would destroy our way of life… America is a melting pot. Canada is a mosaic,” Mr Carney added.

“America is not Canada. Canada will never ever be part of America in any way, shape or form.”

The 59-year-old will replace Justin Trudeau, who has served as prime minister since 2015.

Mr Trudeau announced he was stepping down in January after facing calls to quit from a chorus of his own MPs.

The 53-year-old’s popularity had declined as food and house prices rose.

Mr Carney will now have to decide when to call a general election in Canada – which must take place on or before 20 October.

In 2013, he became the first non-UK citizen to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694.

His appointment was popular in Britain after Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis faster than many other countries.

During leadership debates, Mr Carney argued he was the only person prepared to handle Trump.

“I know how to manage crises,” he said.

“In a situation like this, you need experience in terms of crisis management, you need negotiating skills.”

The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in a parliamentary election.

World

Donald Trump says Ukraine ‘may not survive’ war against Russia even if US support continues

Published

8 hours ago

March 9, 2025

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Donald Trump says Ukraine 'may not survive' war against Russia even if US support continues

US President Donald Trump has suggested Ukraine “may not survive” the war against Russia even if American support continued.

In an interview with Fox News channel’s ‘Sunday Morning Futures’, Mr Trump was asked about his controversial decision to pause support for Kyiv as it fends off Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Mr Trump, who had a disastrous meeting with Mr Zelenskyy at the White House last week, was asked about a warning from Polish President Andrzej Duda “that without American support, Ukraine will not survive”.

Asked if he was “comfortable” with that outcome, the US president said: “Well, it may not survive anyway.

“But we have some weaknesses with Russia. You know, it takes two,” Mr Trump added.

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It comes as Mr Zelenskyy will visit Saudi Arabia for a Monday meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, while Ukrainian diplomatic and military representatives will meet with a US delegation on Tuesday.

Mr Trump’s latest remarks come amid global concern over the souring relationship between Ukraine and the US, which alongside the EU has been Kyiv’s main backer in its defence against Russia’s three-year land, air and sea invasion.

The US paused military aid and the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine this month after a meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy on 28 February descended into acrimony in front of the world’s media.

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Mr Trump ordered the pause as he attempts to put pressure on Mr Zelenskyy to negotiate a ceasefire deal with Russia.

Mr Trump has privately made it clear to aides that a signed minerals deal between Washington and Kyiv will not be enough to restart aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, Sky News’ US partner network NBC reported earlier on Sunday.

The 78-year-old president is said to want the deal signed, but also wants to see a change in Mr Zelenskyy’s attitude towards peace talks.

Officials have told NBC News that Mr Trump also wants Mr Zelenskyy to make some movement towards holding elections in Ukraine and possibly stepping down as his country’s leader.

Mr Zelenskyy said in a recent interview he would be ready to step down as Ukraine’s president if it meant his country would become a NATO member and find peace.

That came after he was branded a “dictator” by Mr Trump as Ukraine had not held fresh elections – despite laws prohibiting it during wartime.

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Russian forces creep through disused gas pipeline in attempt to launch surprise attack on Ukrainian soldiers

Published

14 hours ago

March 9, 2025

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Russian forces creep through disused gas pipeline in attempt to launch surprise attack on Ukrainian soldiers

Russian special forces crept through a disused gas pipeline for several miles to launch a surprise attack on Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region, Ukraine’s military and pro-Moscow war bloggers have said.

Footage circulating on the Telegram app claims to show the elite soldiers crouching as they make their way through the darkness of the pipe to the town of Sudzha.

Some can be heard cursing in Russian and complaining about the commanders who sent them on the mission.

One of the soldiers is heard saying: “F*****g hell, where the f*** are we, boys?”

Another says: “Where does the pipe go? To Sudzha, for f**** sake, that’s f***ing crazy.”

Later in the clip a soldier is heard saying: “We’ll get there of course, but indignantly, because we’re f*****g sick of the f*****g command.”

He later adds: “They took our f*****g assault rifles too.”

Two of the soldiers are seen smoking cigarettes while a separate image shared on Telegram shows an operative wearing a gas mask.

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The special forces soldiers walked around nine miles (15km) through the pipeline which Moscow had until recently used to send gas to Europe, according to Telegram posts by Ukrainian-born pro-Kremlin blogger Yuri Podolyaka.

In the footage, the soldiers suggest the mission requires them to walk seven miles through the pipe.

Mr Podolyaka says some of them spent several days in the pipeline before striking Ukrainian units from the rear near Sudzha.

The operation formed part of efforts by Russia to recapture areas of Kursk which were seized by thousands of Ukrainian soldiers in a shock offensive in August last year.

Another pro-Russian war blogger, who uses the alias Two Majors, said a major battle is under way in Sudzha after Moscow’s special forces crept through the pipe.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s general staff confirmed on Saturday that Russian soldiers had used the pipeline in an attempt to gain a foothold, but airborne assault forces promptly detected them, and they responded with rocket, artillery and drone attacks that destroyed Moscow’s units.

“The enemy’s losses in Sudzha are very high,” the general staff reported.

It comes as Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces shared a video on Telegram on Saturday which it claims shows Kyiv’s forces repelling Russian forces in Kursk with airstrikes.

Sky News has not independently verified the footage.

Months after Kyiv’s forces seized parts of Kursk, Ukrainian soldiers are weary and bloodied by relentless assaults of more than 50,000 Russian troops, including some from Moscow’s ally North Korea.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers run the risk of being encircled, open-source maps of the battlefield showed on Friday.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defence ministry said this morning that it had captured a settlement in Kursk and another in Ukraine’s Sumy region.

Russia also launched heavy aerial attacks overnight on Ukraine into Saturday – with at least 22 people killed, including 11 in the frontline town of Dobropilla in Ukraine’s embattled eastern Donetsk region.

Ukrainian president Voldymyr Zelenskyy described the attacks as a “vile and inhumane intimidation tactic” by Russia.

The attacks come after the US paused military aid and the sharing of intelligence with Ukraine this month after a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Mr Zelenskyy descended into a confrontation in front of the world’s media.

The Trump administration’s stance on Ukraine and apparent favouring of Moscow has sparked concern among European leaders.

Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics told Sky News on Sunday that European countries should “absolutely” introduce conscription as he conceded the continent was “quite weak” militarily in the face of the Russia threat.

Meanwhile, Russian officials have been criticised after presenting mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine with gifts of meat grinders on International Women’s Day.

Russia is often accused of throwing its troops into a “meat grinder” with little regard for their lives.

The local branch of government in the northwestern Russian town of Polyarniye Zori defended itself against the backlash, saying critics were making “callous and provocative interpretations” of the gifts.