New PM Rishi Sunak pledges to fix Britain’s many problems

Rishi Sunak said on Tuesday he was not daunted by the scale of the challenge as he became Britain’s third prime minister in two months, pledging to restore trust, rebuild confidence and lead the country through an economic crisis.

The 42-year-old former hedge fund boss, who has only been in elected politics for seven years, has been tasked with bringing an end to the infighting and feuding at Westminster that has horrified investors and alarmed international allies.

“I fully appreciate how hard things are,” he said outside the prime minister’s residence at Downing Street where he shunned the normal tradition of standing with his family and political supporters.

“I understand too that I have work to do to restore trust after all that has happened. All I can say is that I am not daunted. I know the high office I have accepted and I hope to live up to its demands.”

Sunak, one of the richest men in parliament, is expected to slash spending to plug an estimated 40 billion pound ($45 billion) hole in the public finances created by an economic slowdown, higher borrowing costs and a six-month programme of support for people’s energy bills.

With his party’s popularity in freefall, Sunak will also face growing calls for an election if he moves too far from the policy manifesto that elected the Conservative Party in 2019 when then-leader Boris Johnson pledged to invest heavily in the country.

Economists and investors have said Sunak’s appointment will calm markets, but they warn that he has few easy options when millions are battling a cost-of-living crunch.

“I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda,” he said, shortly after he accepted King Charles’s request to form a government. “This will mean difficult decisions to come.”

He also vowed to put the public’s need above politics, reflecting the mounting anger at the sense of perma-crisis that has gripped Britain since the historic 2016 vote to leave the European Union unleashed a battle for the future of the country.

 

Source : myjoyonline.com

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.