Sunak pledges to cut debt, halve inflation in crisis-hit Britain

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is battling multiple crises including disruption to the NHS and rail services. PHOTO: AFP

LONDON – British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to reduce the national debt and cut inflation as he set out his priorities for the coming year against a backdrop of mounting strikes, a creaking National Health Service (NHS) and dire poll ratings for his ruling Conservative Party.

The economic goals were among five priorities outlined by the Prime Minister in his first planned remarks of the year.

He also outlined promises to grow the economy, tackle immigration and improve healthcare provision.

“Those are the people’s priorities,” Mr Sunak said in a speech in east London on Wednesday. “They are your government’s priorities. And we will either have achieved them or not. No tricks, no ambiguity: We’re either delivering for you or we’re not.”

In office for less than three months, Mr Sunak is battling multiple crises, including disruption to the NHS and rail services due to industrial action, a record cost-of-living squeeze and an economy that may already be in recession.

With the Tories trailing the main opposition Labour Party by more than 20 points in recent polling, Mr Sunak is under pressure to show he has a vision for the country. 

The five pledges outlined by Mr Sunak are:

  • Cutting inflation in half this year to ease the cost-of-living crisis
  • Growing the economy during the current Parliament – which will run until January 2025 at the latest
  • Ensuring national debt is falling by the end of the Parliament
  • Cutting NHS waiting lists so people get the care they need sooner
  • Passing a law to detain and remove migrants arriving in Britain by small boat

The pledge for national debt to be falling in particular suggests Mr Sunak and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt plan a further round of fiscal tightening when they deliver the next budget in March.

In his autumn statement in November, Mr Hunt promised debt would peak in 2025-26 before falling.

But his new promise suggests he will have to begin bringing it down next year.

The Premier is trying to show he has a grip on the challenges besetting his administration.

Health Secretary Steve Barclay conceded on Tuesday that the NHS is under massive pressure, with hospitals across Britain declaring critical incidents and patients being warned of long waiting times even in emergencies.

Delays to emergency care could be causing 500 deaths a week, according to Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.

That is exacerbated by the threat of more strikes over pay and conditions by nurses and ambulance workers later this month, after they also took action in December.

Industrial action has also been paralysing Britain’s transport system this week, with a rail worker strike disrupting the return to the office after the Christmas break. 

The protests have been triggered by growing anger over pay deals that fail to keep pace with inflation that soared last year to a four-decade high.

Mr Sunak has been resisting higher wage demands in the public sector, arguing they would further stoke rising prices.

Overnight, the Premier’s office trailed part of his speech that focused on a pledge to make all pupils in English schools learn some form of maths until the age of 18, with Mr Sunak saying education reform is personal for him.

That led Labour to point out that the government has repeatedly failed to meet its recruitment targets for maths teachers. BLOOMBERG

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