‘Economy turning a corner’: Rishi Sunak seeks to turn around fortunes amid plot rumours
Rishi Sunak has insisted “the economy is turning a corner” and urged Tory MPs to “stick to the plan” amid reports of a plot to oust him before the election.
The prime minister is seeking to shift the political debate to the gradually improving economic outlook as he tries to shore up his leadership.
With many Tories increasingly fearful about losing their seats, there have been claims some MPs are considering replacing him with Commons leader Penny Mordaunt.
Launching a fightback, Mr Sunak vowed that 2024 “will be the year Britain bounces back” in remarks issued by Downing Street on Sunday night.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sunak ‘will lead Tories’ in election
He faces another tough week with his Rwanda Bill returning to the Commons and an appearance before the backbench 1922 committee.
Mr Sunak said he hopes to see “more progress” on inflation when the Office for National Statistics releases the latest inflation data on Wednesday.
“There is now a real sense that the economy is turning a corner with all the economic indicators pointing in the right direction.
“This year, 2024, will be the year Britain bounces back.
Read More:
Lee Anderson’s defection and the Diane Abbott race row show politics is toxic
Ed Davey calls for ‘cast iron commitment’ to cross-party talks on social care crisis
“Inflation has more than halved, with the OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) forecasting it will hit its 2% target in just a few months’ time, a full year ahead of what they were forecasting just a few months ago.”
On Monday, Mr Sunak will set out reforms to boost apprenticeships and cut red tape for small businesses at a conference in Warwickshire.
👉 Listen above and tap here to follow wherever you get your podcasts 👈
MPs will later consider changes made to his Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill by the House of Lords.
The government will seek to overturn peers’ amendments after it suffered 10 defeats in the upper chamber.
But a poll by Focaldata commissioned by the British Future think tank found majority public support for almost all of the changes proposed by the Lords to introduce extra safeguards.
The deportation policy also faces fresh criticism after a cabinet minister failed to guarantee migrant flights will take off before the general election and reports that Kigali has insisted on a staggered approach to the implementation of the policy.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper on Sunday said it was the government’s “intention” for flights to begin before voters go to the polls, but refused to guarantee it.
The Times reported that the first flights are unlikely to take off before mid-May, and that Kigali wants to test the policy with a pause of two months after it accepts the first migrants.
Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper tweeted: “Unbelievable. Govt finally admitting here that Tories’ flagship £500m Rwanda scheme will only cover around 150 people.
“Probable cost of this failing gimmick to British taxpayer is near £2m per person.”
A British girl has had her hearing restored after becoming the first person worldwide to take part in a pioneering new gene therapy trial.
Opal Sandy was born totally deaf due to auditory neuropathy, which disrupts nerve impulses from the inner ear to the brain.
But the 18-month-old’s hearing is now almost normal – and could improve further – after having the one-time treatment.
Opal was treated at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and the head of the trial, Professor Manohar Bance, said results were “better than I hoped or expected” and he hopes medics might be able to cure others with this type of deafness.
“We have results from (Opal) which are very spectacular – so close to normal hearing restoration. So we do hope it could be a potential cure,” he said.
Opal (second left) with her parents and sister Nora, who has the same condition. Pic: PA
Auditory neuropathy can be caused by a fault in the OTOF gene, which makes a protein called otoferlin and enables cells in the ear to communicate with the hearing nerve.
Opal, from Oxfordshire, had an infusion of the working gene into her right ear during surgery in September – the treatment developed by biotech firm Regeneron.
Her parents noticed changes in only four weeks and the improvements were especially noticeable 24 weeks later.
Jo and James Sandy, both 33, said they were “gobsmacked” when she responded to sound tests at home without her cochlear implant, the usual way to treat the condition.
Opal had her operation in September. Pic: Cambridge University NHS Trust
“I thought it was a fluke or like a change in light or something that had caught her eye, but I repeated it a few times,” said Mrs Sandy.
They say she now enjoys the sound of slamming her cutlery on the table and playing with toy drums and wooden blocks.
“We were told she had near normal hearing last time,” she added. “I think they got responses at sort of 25 to 30 decibels.
“I think normal hearing is classed at 20 decibels, so she’s not far off. Before, she had no hearing whatsoever.”
Opal’s surgery was very similar to fitting a cochlear implant, according to Prof Bance.
He said the inner ear (cochlea) was opened and the treatment infused using a catheter over 16 minutes.
“We have to make a release hole in another part of the ear to let the treatment out because it has to go all the way through the ear,” he said.
“And then we just repair and close up, so it’s actually a very similar approach to a cochlear implant, except we don’t put the implant in.”
Read more from Sky News:
Sperm whale ‘phonetic alphabet’ discovered
Orangutan uses plant to treat wound
Experts say it could mark a ‘new era’ in treating deafness. Pic: PA
He said the gene therapy potentially “marks a new era in the treatment for deafness”.
“It was just the fact that we’ve been hearing about this for so long, and there’s been so much work, decades of work… to finally see something that actually worked in humans… It was quite spectacular and a bit awe-inspiring really,” he said.
The treatment was developed especially for children with OTOF mutations, and a second child who has had the same surgery is also seeing positive results.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The trial has three parts – with three deaf children, including Opal, getting a low dose in just one ear.
Another three children will get a high dose on one side. Then, if safe, a new set of children will get a dose in both ears at the same time.
Up to 18 people from the UK, US and Spain are being recruited and will be followed up for five years.
Results of the study were presented on Wednesday to the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy conference in Baltimore.
People are having to play “pharmacy bingo” – going from shop to shop to find stocks – as medicine shortages are worsening, experts have said.
Health leaders say some patients are even having to “ration” their drugs, with a new poll suggesting shortages are a “daily occurrence” for many of England’s pharmacies.
Treatments for ADHD, diabetes and epilepsy are among those affected this year, according to trade body Community Pharmacy England.
Its survey of more than 6,000 pharmacies and 2,000 staff found shortages are “wreaking havoc” on patients.
Nearly all (97%) of staff said patients were being inconvenienced, while 79% said health was being put at risk.
Some 98% said they were also giving out more “I owe yous” – where they can only fulfil part of the prescription.
Nearly all (99%) pharmacies reported supply problems at least weekly, and 72% said they were having “multiple issues a day”.
Another survey last month, by the Nuffield Trust thinktank, said drug shortages had more than doubled between 2020 and 2023 and that Brexit was likely to “significantly weaken” the UK’s ability to deal with the issues.
Shortages have also been a growing problem in Europe and the US in recent years.
However, the UK leaving EU supply chains is said to have added complications such as custom checks at borders and drug makers facing extra regulation.
Nearly all pharmacies reported problems at least weekly and 72% were having multiple issues a day
The falling value of the pound after Brexit has also made it more expensive for the NHS to buy medicines.
Community Pharmacy England boss Janet Morrison said the supply problems were “beyond critical” and had become an “ongoing battle” for pharmacies.
“Patients with a wide range of clinical and therapeutic needs are being affected on a daily basis and this is going far beyond inconvenience, leading to frustration, anxiety and affecting their health,” she added.
“For some patients, not having access to the medicines they need could lead to very serious consequences, even leaving them needing to visit A&E.”
Ms Morrison said the survey was “yet another stark warning which must not be ignored”.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Read more:
Pharmacies closing at a rapid rate – with deprived areas worst affected
Seven things pharmacies will be able to treat without GP appointment
William Pett from Healthwatch England called it an “ongoing issue that continues to wreak havoc on patients”.
“Healthwatch England hears about how shortages can lead to rationing and desperate instances of ‘pharmacy bingo’, where patients must travel from pharmacy to pharmacy looking for stock,” he said.
Paul Rees, head of the National Pharmacy Association, urged the government “to sort out the UK’s fragile medicines supply system, so that pharmacies can do their job and patients can get their lifesaving medicines in time”.
The Department of Health and Social Care is yet to comment.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment12 months agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports6 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports1 month agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Environment1 year agoTesla advances Powerwall pilot project with German electric company