Country “not seeing the change that’s needed” with Sunak as PM, Dodds says

Anneliese Dodds has argued that the country is “not seeing the change that’s needed” with Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister following Sunak’s first speech since officially succeeding Liz Truss in the role.

Delivering his speech earlier today, Sunak said his government “will have integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level”, telling viewers: “Trust is earned, and I will earn yours.”

He declared that “economic stability and confidence” will be at the centre of his government’s agenda, adding: “This will mean difficult decisions to come.”

Sunak said: “I want to pay tribute to my predecessor Liz Truss. She was not wrong to want to improve growth in this country. It is a noble aim. And I admired her restlessness to create change.

“But some mistakes were made. Not born of ill will or bad intentions. Quite the opposite in fact. But mistakes nonetheless. And I have been elected as leader of my party and your Prime Minister in part to fix them.”

He added: “I will always be grateful to Boris Johnson for his incredible achievements as Prime Minister. And I treasure his warmth and generosity of spirit. And I know he would agree that the mandate my party earned in 2019 is not the sole property of any one individual. It is a mandate that belongs to and unites all of us.”

Interviewed on BBC News following the speech, Dodds said: “Rishi Sunak is saying he’s the answer when the problem, ultimately, is the Conservatives. Rishi Sunak has been part of those 12 years of Conservative failure, and people didn’t vote at the last election for a high-tax, low-growth economy.”

“We’re not seeing the change that’s needed for our country with this coronation of Rishi Sunak. Quite the opposite. He doesn’t have a mandate, and we need a fresh start with a general election,” the Shadow Women and Equalities Secretary added.

The Labour frontbencher said: “Many people looking towards Monday – what seems to be setting up as a real kind of Halloween horror show of a fiscal statement likely to be coming from the Conservatives on Monday – they’re really worried about their mortgages. They’re worried about the rising cost of living.

“And that didn’t just happen yesterday. That’s been built up over those 12 years of Conservative failure. And Rishi Sunak’s been at the heart of it.”

Sunak was confirmed as the next Tory Party leader on Monday after his rival Penny Mordaunt pulled out of the race, having failed to reach the threshold of 100 endorsements from MPs.

Reacting to the news, Angela Rayner said: “The Tories have crowned Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister without him saying a single word about how he would run the country and without anyone having the chance to vote.

“This is the same Rishi Sunak who as Chancellor failed to grow the economy, failed to get a grip on inflation and failed to help families with the Tory cost-of-living crisis.”

Truss resigned as Prime Minister last week after just 44 days in office, having faced widespread criticism over the economic turmoil that followed her government’s ‘mini-Budget’. Following the fiscal statement, the pound crashed to its lowest level to date against the dollar, and government borrowing costs soared.

Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked after serving just 38 days as Chancellor following several U-turns, making him the second shortest serving Chancellor in British history. His successor, Jeremy Hunt, subsequently confirmed that the government would be abandoning “almost all” the tax measures announced in the mini-Budget.

Hunt is due to deliver the government’s medium-term fiscal plan to parliament on October 31st. He told the Commons last week that there will be “many difficult decisions” to be announced in the plan.