Rishi Sunak challenged over criticism that ‘nothing works in Britain’
Rishi Sunak faced an uncomfortable TV grilling this morning as he was challenged over viewers’ claims that ‘nothing works in Britain’.
On the final weekend of campaigning ahead of Thursday’s general election, the PM was confronted over a slew of gripes about the state of public services.
These included complaints about potholes, a lack of doctors’ appointments, sewage being pumped onto beaches, and schools not being able to afford glue-sticks.
Mr Sunak insisted Britain was now a better place to live than it was when the Tories took office in 2010.
He also warned a Labour government would hike taxes and move to reverse Brexit should Sir Keir Starmer replace him as PM on Friday.
Mr Sunak reiterated that he ‘understood’ the Covid crisis and Ukraine war had meant the last few years were ‘difficult’.
But he stressed the country was ‘now on the right track’ as he built on his warning that Labour would do ‘irreversible damage’ within 100 days of taking power.
Rishi Sunak faced an uncomfortable TV grilling this morning as he was challenged over viewers claims that ‘nothing works in Britain’
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show, the Prime Minister was confronted over a slew of gripes about the state of public services
Appearing on the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg show, Mr Sunak was challenged over complaints from voters about the state of the Britain.
A viewer called Julian asked: ‘Why, oh, why isn’t anything working in this country?
‘It grieves me sorely to see the state that this country has degenerated into.’
Michael said: ‘Why does my son’s school not have enough money for glue-sticks? Why do I have potholes on almost every road I drive on?
‘Why can’t I get a doctor’s appointment? Why are beaches closed when it rains and rivers polluted beyond measure?’
And Sheila said: ‘Our biggest worry is not about tax, it’s about having the basics.’
Rssponding to the viewers’ comments, Mr Sunak said: ‘Of course it’s been very difficult, when inflation rises to the highest level that we’ve seen in decades, when energy bills double because of a war in Ukraine.
‘Of course that has an impact on Sheila and everyone else. That’s why I’m working so hard to deliver people financial security. And I do think it is about tax.
‘Because people are working very, very hard and I want them to be able to keep more of their money so they can spend that on their families in the way that they want.
‘We’ve now been able to start doing that after a difficult few years, which is very positive. So everyone in work, on average, is receiving a £900 tax cut.
‘And, if we’re re-elected, we’ll continue to cut taxes for people at every stage of their lives, giving them the financial security they rightly want and deserve after what has been a difficult few years.
Referring back to the viewers complaints, Mr Sunak added: ‘None of those things are going to be made any easier by a Labour government that is going to whack up everyone’s taxes by thousands of pounds.
‘That’s not going to help Sheila or anybody else and I don’t want to see that happen.’
The PM had earlier insisted Britain was now a ‘better place to live than it was in 2010’.
‘Of course I understand that the last few years have been difficult for everyone,’ he said.
But Mr Sunak rejected the suggestion that Britain has become poorer by many measures since 2010, and public services are worse.
‘I just don’t accept that,’ the PM replied, citing education and saying ‘our schoolchildren are now the best readers in the western world’.
As he was quizzed about Britain’s trade negotiations since leaving the EU, Mr Sunak pledged – if he stays in power – then the Tories would complete a trade deal with India.
He also warned about Labour’s bid to rewrite Britain’s trade deal with the EU, saying: ‘I don’t think it’s right for Labour to end up re-accepting EU rules that we have no say over.’
The PM later hit back at what he claimed was a ‘declinist narrative’ when asked whether it was a mistake for him to have changed course on Net Zero.
Asked whether he thought the shift to ease some the UK’s climate targets was a mistake, Mr Sunak said: ‘No, and actually you started that question with something that I fundamentally disagree with: ‘because of Brexit, we’ve lost our standing in the world’.’
Told that was not what the BBC presenter had said, the PM replied: ‘You said we’ve lost our standing in the world. That’s completely and utterly wrong.’
Mr Sunak cited Britain building new nuclear submarines with Australia and the US, the negotiation of the Windsor Framework with the EU, and support for Ukraine.
He claimed that ‘people are queuing up to work with us because they respect what we do’.
‘So I just completely reject that, it’s entirely wrong, this kind of declinist narrative that people have of the UK I wholeheartedly reject,’ he added.
