Rishi Sunak to pitch himself as prime minister to ‘fundamentally change the country’

Published

1 year ago

October 4, 2023

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Rishi Sunak will try to convince the public he is the person to “fundamentally change the country” and fix Westminster’s “broken system” – despite the fact his party has been in government for 13 years.

In his speech to the Tory Party conference, the prime minister will present himself as a reformer who is prepared to take difficult decisions, unlike opponents, who take “the easy decision, not the right one”.

Mr Sunak will tell the conference hall that politics “doesn’t work the way it should” and that his Labour opponent, Sir Keir Starmer, is “betting on voters’ apathy.”

The speech will round off what has been a chaotic four days at the party’s annual conference in Manchester – an event that has been overshadowed by the announcement that the northern leg of HS2 will not go ahead as originally envisioned.

Instead, services will run between Birmingham and Manchester but they will not be high speed and they will use the existing West Coast Mainline track.

The development prompted Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to accuse the government of treating people in the north as “second-class citizens”.

Election would be ‘massive distraction’ – Tory conference latest

He warned the government: “To pull that plug here in Manchester would show complete contempt to the city region and to the north of England as a whole.”

The Tory mayor for the West Midlands, Andy Street, also warned it would be “an incredible political gaffe” allowing opponents to accuse Mr Sunak of having decided to “shaft the north”.

In his speech, Mr Sunak will rail against “30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one – 30 years of vested interests standing in the way of change”.

He will reflect on his first year in Number 10 and acknowledge a “feeling that Westminster is a broken system”.

“It isn’t anger, it is an exhaustion with politics,” he will say.

“In particular, politicians saying things, and then nothing ever changing.

“And you know what? People are right. Politics doesn’t work the way it should.”

Poll shows most voters think Sunak is doing a bad job

A new poll of 1,000 people from Ipsos UK suggests most voters think Rishi Sunak is doing a bad job when it comes to hitting his goals.

On inflation, 57% said Mr Sunak was doing a bad job, up from 55% in May.

Some 54% said he was doing a bad job on growing the economy, up from 50% in May.

And 54% of people said he was doing a bad job on reducing national debt – up from 49%.

On cutting NHS waiting lists, dissatisfaction sits at 71%, compared to 62% in May.

On ‘stopping the boats’, two-thirds of people said he was doing a bad job.

The poll was carried out just before the Conservative party conference.

And he will say: “Politicians spent more time campaigning for change than actually delivering it.

“Our mission is to fundamentally change our country.”

As well as the HS2 announcement, Mr Sunak has also been undermined by his predecessor Liz Truss, who drew big conference crowds as she demanded immediate tax cuts to “make Britain grow again”.

Mr Sunak has instead compared himself to the late Baroness Thatcher, who tackled inflation before cutting taxes during her premiership between 1979 and 1990.

While Mr Sunak has repeatedly sought to dodge questions over HS2, he did say on Tuesday that the costs of the project had gone “far beyond” what had been predicted, and the sums involved were “enormous”.

The HS2 scheme was given a budget of £55.7bn in 2015 but costs have ballooned, with an estimate of up to £98bn – in 2019 prices – in 2020.

UK

Body found in search for missing jogger Jenny Hall

Published

20 hours ago

February 23, 2025

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Body found in search for missing jogger Jenny Hall

A body has been found in the search for 23-year-old runner Jenny Hall.

She was last seen leaving her home in Barracks Farm, County Durham, in her car just after 3pm on Tuesday.

Police said there are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances after a body was found in a very remote area in Teesdale on Sunday morning, five days after she went missing.

“We’re sorry to report that officers searching for missing woman Jenny Hall, have sadly found a body,” Durham Constabulary said in a statement.

“Officers carried out an extensive search alongside specialist partners and have been working around-the-clock to locate Jenny after she went missing on February 18.

“The body was found in a very remote area in Teesdale just after 9.30am today.

“Formal identification has yet to take place. Jenny’s family have been notified and are currently being supported by specialist officers. They have asked for privacy at this devasting time.

“It is not believed there are any suspicious circumstances and a file will be prepared for the coroner.”

A major police search was launched after Ms Hall’s disappearance.

Her car, a red Ford Focus, was found on Wednesday parked on the B6278, near remote moorland between Eggleston and Stanhope.

Mountain rescue teams, specialist drones and sniffer dogs had been combing the Hamsterley Forest and the surrounding areas, where there are a number of running trails, this week.

Digital intelligence officers also carried out extensive inquiries into Ms Hall’s mobile phone, smart watch and running apps.

UK

Fresh amber warning for rain as Met Office issues alerts for much of UK

Published

20 hours ago

February 23, 2025

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Fresh amber warning for rain as Met Office issues alerts for much of UK

A fresh amber weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the Met Office – with much of the UK already on alert for high winds and showers.

Northern Ireland, Scotland and the UK’s west coast and the Midlands have yellow warnings for wind on Sunday – meaning the possibility of transport delays and short-term power cuts.

There are also rain warnings in place for several parts of western UK.

The new amber warning has been issued for rain in south and central Wales and is in force from 3pm on Sunday to 6am on Monday.

An amber warning means danger to life from floodwater, homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, and there is a chance some communities will be cut off.

Winds across the west of the UK will increase throughout the morning with gusts up to 70mph in exposed areas, the Met Office said.

Zoe Hutin, a meteorologist at the forecaster, said Sunday is expected to be the “worst day” before conditions improve.

“The wind warning itself for the mainland UK ends at 6pm, but we can expect to continue to see quite blustery conditions even into the evening as the mainland rain itself pushes through.”

She added: “By the time people get up on Monday, we’ll still have some of the residual rain from that front in the far south-east of the country, and quite cloudy across England as well.

“But actually elsewhere, it could be a decent start.”

The Met Office’s yellow weather warnings for much of England and Scotland came into force at 6am and are expected to run until 6pm on Sunday.

A separate yellow warning for Northern Ireland came into force at 3am and runs until 3pm.

People who have noticed some slightly higher temperatures the last couple of days may be dismayed at the latest predictions.

“Through the week, those temperatures are trending back down,” Ms Hutin said.

“And so it will be getting cooler each day, but they will actually just be recovering to around average for the time of year. So it won’t be cold.

“It will just be returning back to where we would expect to be for this time of February.”

UK

Starmer says ‘US is right’ about UK and Europe needing to take more responsibility for defence

Published

20 hours ago

February 23, 2025

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Starmer says 'US is right' about UK and Europe needing to take more responsibility for defence

Sir Keir Starmer has said the United States “is right” about the UK and Europe needing to take more responsibility for defence and security.

The prime minister, speaking at the Scottish Labour conference in Glasgow on Sunday, said he is clear Britain “will take a leading responsibility” in protecting the continent.

“Instability in Europe always washes up on our shores,” he said.

“And this is a generational moment. I’ve been saying for some time that we Europeans – including the United Kingdom – have to do more for our defence and security. The US is right about that.”

He added “we can’t cling to the comforts of the past” as it is “time to take responsibility for our security”.

Politics latest: Starmer’s stinging rebuke of Reform

Donald Trump sparked an emergency meeting of European leaders this week after he said European NATO members should spend more on defence, while the US should spend less.

Sir Keir has said he will set out a path for the UK to spend 2.5% of GDP on defence, up from the current 2.3%, but has not indicated when that will be.

It is believed he may announce the details when he visits Mr Trump in Washington DC on Thursday, bringing forward the announcement that was expected in the spring when a defence spending review is published.

The prime minister reiterated the UK will “play our role” if required in Ukraine following a peace agreement after he earlier this week said the UK would send troops to be part of a peacekeeping force.

However, his comments caused a row with Germany and Italy who said it was premature to commit to boots on the ground, although France agreed with the UK.

Sir Keir said: “As we enter a new phase in this conflict, we must now deepen our solidarity even further.”

He added: “There can be no discussion about Ukraine without Ukraine.

“And the people of Ukraine must have long-term security.”

This week has seen US officials meet their Russian counterparts in Saudi Arabia to discuss Ukraine – which has been met with indignation by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as none of his team were invited.

No Europeans were invited either, sparking concern the US is pandering to Vladimir Putin.

Sir Keir has promised Mr Zelenskyy he will make the case for safeguarding Ukraine’s sovereignty when he meets with Mr Trump, who has called the Ukrainian president a dictator.

Mr Trump also said Sir Keir and French President Emmanuel Macron, who will visit the White House too this week, “haven’t done anything” to end the war.