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Rishi Sunak hints at later general election saying ‘I’ve got a lot to get on with’
RISHI Sunak today hinted an election could still be a long way off - as he insisted: "I've got a lot to get on with".
The PM said he wants to get on with making more progress on delivering his five priorities first - before going to the people.
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He has until January 2025 to call a fresh vote under the law - and can choose to do so whenever he likes before then.
Most people expect him to announce an election at some point next year - in 2024 - but insiders think he is waiting until the economy picks up and inflation has dropped.
When grilled by LBC this morning on the timing of the next election, he said: "That'll be announced in the normal way.
"I've got five priorities, I'm keen to deliver those for the country."
When pushed on whether that would be the first half of 2024, he replied: "I wouldn't like to speculate - I've got a lot to get on with."
In a public grilling today he:
- Stuck by his plans to dish out hundreds of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea
- Revealed he's off on holiday to California today - taking his kids to Disneyland for a treat
- Vowed to stop at nothing to stop the boats in the face of huge defiance from Labour, leftie lawyers and others
- Suggested people should extend their mortgages to longer terms in order to keep their homes
- Insisted beer bosses told him that "business is good" and they are seeing confidence return
- Hit out at Tory MP Nadine Dorries who has said she will quit but hasn't - saying she's not representing her constituents properly
- Blamed striking junior doctors for increasing NHS waiting lists
The PM has promised to stop the boats, halve inflation, cut waiting lists, and grow the economy - but is struggling to make much progress on any of them.
14,000 small boats have come to the UK so far this year, waiting lists are up to 7.9million people, and inflation is still stubbornly high.
But he told the radio station that he spoke to beer bosses yesterday who told him that "business is good" and that he felt "confidence is returning" - despite the economy still crawling along and fears of a recession.
Mortgages
The Bank of England is set to raise interest rates for the 14th time in a row tomorrow in a bid to try and squash it down.
The PM suggested people struggling with huge spiralling mortgage hikes should speak to their bank first - and suggested that paying it off over more years would save people from losing their homes.
He told listeners "I know what a struggle it is - I don't want people to lose their homes."
But desperate callers said they wouldn't be able to afford their spiralling payments - and were already on a 35 year mortgage deal.
Energy
The PM went on to insist that his plans for new oil and gas licences were "100 per cent the right thing to do" - despite opposition from climate change campaigners and Labour.
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The PM insisted: “We should not take any lectures from anybody about our record… it’s better than anyone else’s.
"Of course we are doing the right thing - we can take comfort in that."
A quarter of all our energy will still come from fossil fuels in 2050, he said - and it would have far fewer emissions if we get it from the North Sea rather than importing it from abroad.
He added: "The right sensible thing is to use the energy we have here at home as we transition to net zero."
Strikes
The PM also blamed striking doctors and nurses for pushing up waiting lists again.
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In a fiery exchange over pay, the PM tried to shift blame to well paid consultants and doctors, saying a million lower paid staff had accepted the Government’s pay deal.
He told LBC: "We had strikes...that is the reason waiting lists are going up."
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