British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised in his first major speech of 2023 on Wednesday to halve inflation, grow the UK economy and stop illegal immigration.
In a speech that set out the Conservative government’s priorities for the coming year, Sunak focused on tackling the slowdown in the UK economy and vowed to reduce the national debt. He also vowed to pass new laws to prevent migrants from reaching UK shores on small boats, as well as cut massive backlogs for Britain’s public health service.
“Those are the priorities of the people. They are the priorities of his government. And we will have achieved them or not ”Sunak said.
“No tricks, no ambiguities, we are delivering for you or we are not. We will rebuild trust in politics through action, or nothing,” he added.
Sunak, who took office in October after a tumultuous year in UK politics that saw two other prime ministers resign, stressed that will provide stability. Said His first priority was “to halve inflation this year to ease the cost of living and provide financial security for people.”
Sunak’s predecessor, Liz Truss, unveiled a disastrous package of unfunded tax cuts in September and was forced to resign after less than two months in office. Her policies sent the pound sterling tumbling, raising the cost of borrowing and triggering an emergency intervention by the British central bank.
Since Sunak took over from Truss at the end of October, the UK economy has calmed but still faces a cost-of-living crisis and growing labor unrest as key public sector workers from nurses and bus drivers ambulances to train workers, stage disruptive strikes to demand better wages to keep up with skyrocketing inflation.
The Inflation in the UK stood at 10.7% in November, slightly below that of October, but still close to the highest in four decades. Energy and food costs have skyrocketed, largely due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, and living standards have plummeted for millions of Britons.
In recent weeks, the Sunak government has also come under increasing pressure to address failings in the public health system, with many front-page headlines focusing on a lack of hospital beds and the record wait times required to see a doctor or get an ambulance.
Authorities have blamed the large number of flu and COVID-19 cases, but health chiefs say the problems are longstanding and the result of a chronic underfunding by the government.
Sunak’s Conservative Party, which has been in power for 12 years, trails the opposition Labor Party in the polls. The next general elections will take place at the end of 2024.
(with information from AP)
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Source-www.infobae.com