Through Kate Whannell, bbc politics
Rishi Sunak has insisted that the United Kingdom is a better playing field to live in now than in 2010, when the Conservatives came to government.
In a heavy-hitting interview ahead of Thursday’s general election, the prime minister said the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine had made the era “difficult for everyone”, but also said the country was now “on the right track”. Is.
Labor said prices in shops, NHS waiting lists and mortgages had risen under the Conservatives and it was “painful to see Rishi Sunak glossing over the concerns of ordinary working people”.
Speaking to BBC’s Sunday with Laura KuenssbergMr Sunak rejected a “rejectionist narrative”, and defended Brexit, saying it was “completely inappropriate” to suggest Britain has lost its position in the world since leaving the EU.
Appearing at the same event, Labour’s election coordinator Pat McFadden said he believed relations with the EU could improve, but ruled out a return to freedom of movement as part of any negotiations .
He said Labor would not sign anything that was not in Britain’s interests.
“The objective is to try, the objective is to identify whether we are able to do better than what we are doing at the moment, whether we are able to do business with some of these limitations in the industry that are affecting many of our companies. Are. “
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the current Brexit deal is “bad” and her party wants to see freer movement for under-35s to work or study in Europe.
He also suggested that immigration was too much, but avoided specifying what their limit should be.
On July 4, Mr Sunak will be hoping to secure another term in government for his party – the fifth since 2010, when David Cameron led a coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
Asked whether Britain had become a better or worse place to live in the past 14 years, Mr Sunak said it was better.
He said COVID and the war in Ukraine have increased people’s bills, but he said his government has made progress in tackling those problems.
“Inflation is back to normal, the economy is growing again, wages are rising again, electricity prices are set to fall again, we are now able to reduce public taxes,” he said.
Mr McFadden said that during their time in government the Conservatives had made unfunded promises that had hurt people economically.
He said Labor was showing “high levels of monetary accountability” and the Conservatives were offering “a set wish-list of unfunded stability”.
The SNP’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn accused both main parties of a “conspiracy of silence”, saying no one was telling voters about the public sector cuts they would implement after the election.
On Brexit, Mr Sunak was asked whether he thought leaving the EU harmed Britain’s economy and its standing in the world.
Mr Sunak – who supported Brexit during the 2016 referendum – said it had changed the UK’s trading relationships, but argued that it also gave the government more time to cut red tape for businesses and sign new trade deals. Has also been enabled.
He said, “People are lining up to work with us because they appreciate our work. I completely reject it – it’s completely inappropriate for this decadent narrative crowd of the United Kingdom. “
He also pointed towards agreements with America and Australia to build submarines and the role Britain played in supporting Ukraine.
He also rejected the suggestions – Created by Climate Change Committee – Britain has lost its reputation as a world leader on climate change.
Mr Sunak argued that Britain has decarbonised faster than other countries and defended its decision to line back up On some previous climate commitments he said he did not want to burden UK taxpayers with additional costs.
Mr Sunak was also asked during the interview A racial comment was directed at him By a Reform UK preacher.
The Prime Minister said the comments were “serious and racist and inappropriate”.
He said there was once a “huge gap” between the way Reform UK leader Nigel Farage handled the controversy and his own actions in the case of Tory donor Frank Hester. made racist comments About politician Diane Abbott.
He said Mr Hester had apologized and was “genuinely sorry” while reform campaigner Andrew Parker had shown no remorse.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Farage said the campaigner was doing “a job” and his comments were “a calculated attempt to derail our marketing campaign”.
He said he had to deny comments he made to a dozen of his fellow candidates, adding: “I was given a bit of a rush there, in return I wasn’t there, they don’t normally have any after Thursday. Used to come.”
After his comments were broadcast by Channel 4, Mr Parker said: “In my opinion neither Nigel Farage nor the Reform Celebration are conscious of my personal views on immigration”.
“I would therefore like to apologize to Nigel Farage and the Reform Party if my personal views have caused them a bad impression and brought them into disrepute as that was not my intention.”
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