Phillipson accuses PM of a “total failure” to set out how to “build a better Britain”

Labour’s Bridget Phillipson has accused Rishi Sunak of a “total failure to set out how he intends to build a better Britain” following the Prime Minister’s new year speech, in which he outlined five key priorities on the economy, health and immigration.

Sunak made five pledges in his speech this afternoon, specifically halving inflation over the next year, growing the economy, ensuring national debt is falling, reducing NHS waiting lists and passing new laws to stop small boats crossing the Channel.

Sunak told attendees: “Those are the people’s priorities. 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.

“We will rebuild trust in politics through action or not at all. So I ask you to judge us on the effort that we put in and the results that we achieve.”

Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech, Phillipson told the BBC: “What we saw today from Rishi Sunak was a total failure to set out how he intends to build a better Britain. There was no plan behind any of that.”

The Shadow Education Secretary said: “This was just completely out of touch, not addressing the real problems that we see right now as a country that his government, after 13 years, have been responsible for creating.”

“Tomorrow, Keir Starmer will set out Labour’s plans about how we will make sure that we do see a hopeful and more optimistic future for Britain, because I think our best days should lie ahead of us. But right now, under the Conservatives, life’s only getting tougher for working families,” Phillipson added.

The Labour leader will make his own new year speech on Thursday morning. Starmer reportedly intends to use the speech to convince voters that Labour offers “hope and change”.

Sunak said today: “The cost of living, too high. Waiting times in the NHS, too long. Illegal migration, far too much. I think people do accept that many of these challenges are at least in part, the legacy of Covid and impacted by the war in Ukraine. But that’s not an excuse. We need to address these problems.”

The Prime Minister continued: “I want to make five promises to you today. Five pledges to deliver peace of mind. Five foundations on which to build a better future for our children and grandchildren.

“First, we will halve inflation this year to ease the cost of living and give people financial security. Second, we will grow the economy, creating better-paid jobs and opportunity right across the country. Third, we will make sure our national debt is falling so that we can secure the future of public services.

“Fourth, NHS waiting lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly. Fifth, we will pass new laws to stop small boats, making sure that if you come to this country illegally, you are detained and swiftly removed.”

Sunak set out a five-point plan to crack down on Channel crossings in a statement to MPs in December, during which he described the UK’s asylum system as “designed for a different era”.

The Prime Minister said many people arriving in small boats originate from “fundamentally safe countries or travel through safe countries”. He added that many of the journeys are “co-ordinated by ruthless, organised criminals”, telling MPs: “Unless we act now and decisively, this will only get worse.”

Responding to the statement, Starmer said: “Channel crossings are a serious problem, requiring serious solutions. We need leadership at home and abroad.

“We need a Home Office that functions effectively and we need to defeat the criminal gangs operating on the coast. But time and time again, this government has not provided serious solutions.”