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RISHI SUNAK
Tories WILL cut taxes and build a better future for everyone… a vote for Labour is for the same old waffle
Looking ahead to 2024, we’re making progress on the things that matter
RISHI Sunak writes exclusively in today’s Sun on Sunday — where he promises a better year for Britain.
The Prime Minister outlines the progress he has made on his big five priorities as he gears up for a general election this year.
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And he takes aim at Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, who he warns will go on an unfunded spending spree.
The choice in 2024, he says, is between a Conservative Party that delivers or an evasive Labour Party.
By Rishi Sunak
HAPPY New Year!
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Sun on Sunday readers should feel confident that a better year for Britain lies ahead.
Last year wasn’t the easiest.
We have all been dealing with the huge spike in inflation following the Covid pandemic and the impact of war in Ukraine, which sent energy prices soaring.
But looking ahead to 2024, we’re making progress on the things that matter.
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This time last year, I set out five priorities everyone could judge me against.
The first was halving inflation. Inflation eats away at the money in people’s pockets, leaving less cash left over each month.
Inflation was 10.7 per cent this time last year. It is now 3.9 per cent, so we’ve delivered on that important target ahead of time and we aim to go further.
On growing the economy — of course there’s further we want to go — but it’s currently outperforming expectations and last year we started to see lots of investment coming into the UK from top global companies such as Nissan and Tata, creating thousands of new jobs.
My third priority is reducing debt.
That’s on track to be falling as we promised.
The fourth was cutting NHS waiting lists.
They are still too high but we are making progress.
We have virtually eliminated two-year waits and have got 18-week waits down by 90 per cent.
In October, when there were fewer days of strike action, we saw the overall waiting list fall by 60,000.
This shows that without strikes, and with ongoing government investment and support in the NHS, we can continue make good progress.
My fifth priority is stopping the boats.
Everyone said nothing could be done but last year the number of people coming illegally in small boats was down by over a third, while the numbers entering Europe illegally increased.
Arrivals from Albania are down by 90 per cent thanks to our deal with the Albanian government.
Now, because we’ve made progress, in particular on the economy and driving down inflation, we are in a position to do what we always said we’d do — and that is to cut taxes.
This weekend we’ve introduced a big tax cut which every working person across the country will benefit from.
On the average wage, the tax cut is worth £450.
First cut inflation, then cut taxes — that was my plan and we are delivering.
And as we manage the economy responsibly, I want to do more to give you and your families peace of mind and immediate relief from some of the challenges you’re facing and confidence the future will be better for you and your children.
So as we look ahead to 2024, we’re putting money back in people’s pockets and taking the long-term decisions that will help build a better, brighter future for everyone in the country.
We’re going to build better, sustainable domestic energy generation — so we can reduce our reliance on foreign imports.
We’re going to deliver better transport — with one of the biggest ever upgrades for the North and Midlands in Network North.
And we will pass our Safety of Rwanda Bill, which makes clear that Rwanda is a safe third country for asylum seekers — preventing illegal migrants from abusing our human rights laws to prevent their removal, and making clear that if you come to the UK illegally, you will not be able to stay.
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That will allow us to get flights off the ground, break the business model of the evil smuggling gangs and stop the boats.
So the choice is a clear one between the Conservatives delivering for you and Labour, who won’t say what their plans are.
They’ll try to take people for fools by just saying what they think people want to hear.
One of Labour’s only big ideas is to go on a big, unfunded spending spree costing £28billion a year.
They are pretending it’s possible to do that without raising your taxes.
It is just not credible: £28billion is twice what we spend on the police in England.
Their spending spree would mean higher taxes for families and businesses across Britain.
The choice facing our country is build on the progress we have made or Labour’s tired obsession with the same old politics — the same evasions, illusions and waffle.
A vote for Labour is a vote for the same old failure to be straight with Britain and the same old endless short-termism.
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I am committed to building a Britain where hard work is always rewarded; young people get the skills and opportunities they need to succeed in life; where we can all look to the future with hope, optimism and a renewed sense of pride in our country.
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