Rishi Sunak faced turmoil from conservatives on Thursday night after expressing serious doubts about whether he would deliver on his key political promise to stop safe haven crossings before the next election.
The prime minister’s promises to stimulate the economy and cut NHS waiting lists have also come under scrutiny after the latest GDP data showed slower growth and a record number of hospital procedures.
Mr Sunak made five promises when he made his first major speech in 2023 in January, including a promise to asylum seekers crossing the English Channel in small boats.
But when asked if he could fulfill his promise to society to solve the problem in the next election, Mr. Sunak refused to do so.
Asked in an interview with conservative house Asked if he would stop all these asylum trips in the next federal election, he replied: “I always said it wasn’t easy either. This is a complex problem with no simple solution.
“I have always said that this will not happen overnight. I made it clear. But people should know that this is extremely important to me.”
The comments prompted an immediate response from former Conservative minister Andrea Jenkins, who in a letter to the prime minister said the government “has an obligation to the taxpayer to take every measure” to stop the Channel crossing.
She has hinted that she might join a Tory uprising against the government’s controversial illegal immigration bill over the issue in the coming weeks.
Right-wing MPs are pushing for tougher legislation, giving ministers the power to overturn European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) decisions that could stop deportations to Rwanda, for example, which Sunak says are not mandatory.
“We must not and cannot let the British people down on this matter of national importance,” Jenkins wrote.
“They deserve a government that is willing to stand up for what they believe in, and only conservatives can do that.
“If this means withdrawing from the ECtHR, then I fully support and encourage this course of action. [Mr Sunak] consider this path in the future.
Mr. Sunak’s comments came on the same day that UK GDP data showed growth stabilizing, with GDP rising just 0.02% in February.
The latest figures from NHS England, also released yesterday, show a record 7.22 million people awaiting routine treatment, up from 7.21 million in January.
This comes despite Mr Sunak’s promise that in January “the NHS waiting lists will be reduced and people will get the help they need more quickly.”
The prime minister also acknowledged that there is still work to be done by the Conservatives to encourage homeownership among young people as he has been criticized for this decision to cancel the national housing targets.
Mr Sunak said that most people want a home, which the Tories have traditionally advocated. But he added: “Now we have to admit, yes, this dream seems out of reach for too many people.”
Under pressure from his decision to abandon housing goals in the wake of the riots, Sunak said the decision came after discussions with party members during the Tory leadership race.
“I heard all the time, especially from our advisers and our members, that they don’t want top-down goals at the national level to tell them what to do. It wasn’t exactly conservative,” he said.
However, the Prime Minister hinted that taxes could be cut ahead of the next elections.
Mr. Sunak said he wants to simplify the tax system before adding: “I think the Chancellor thinks we need to bring inflation down first, get borrowing under control, and then we have a solid foundation for tax cuts. This is what we all want and this is what we want to deliver.”
Source: I News
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