Rishi Sunak says he intends to put govt on 'crisis footing' from day one if he becomes PM

Indian-origin Former British chancellor Rishi Sunak, one of the leading candidates for Britain's prime minister face, stated that if elected, he would put the government on "crisis footing" from the start. While speaking in an interview with The Times, Sunak said Britain is already facing a national emergency over the economy, NHS backlogs, and illegal migration. He asserted that the current government was not "working as well as it should" and stated that the country needed to overcome the "business-as-usual mentality".

Citing inflation as one of the major causes of "enormous" costs faced by families, Sunak said the National Health Service was under unsustainable pressure and the public believed the government had lost control of Britain’s borders. He averred that in the coming weeks, policies to tackle five fronts, including the economy, the National Health Service, and migration, will be revealed.

UK: Rishi Sunak says he intends to put govt on 'crisis footing' from day one if he becomes PM

This development comes as Sunak's colleague-cum-rival foreign secretary, Liz Truss announced that if she wins the UK Prime Ministerial election, she will withdraw all European Union-related laws by the end of 2023. 

"Having been inside the government, I think the system just isn’t working as well as it should," he said. "And the challenges I’m talking about, they’re not abstract, they’re not things that are coming long down the track. They’re challenges that are staring us in the face, and a business-as-usual mentality isn’t going to cut it in dealing with them. So from day one of being in the office, I’m going to put us on a crisis footing. "

Supporting the target to cut carbon emissions to a net zero level by 2050, Sunak also reiterated his call for the tax cut, saying this is the only option to tackle rising inflation. He also highlighted that high levels of inflation could last for far longer than predicted as he denied making any further commitments to cut personal taxes during the election campaign. "What I worry about is the inflation we’re seeing now becoming entrenched for longer," he said. "If that happens, it will be incredibly damaging for millions across the UK." The cost for families is going to be enormous," he added.

Criticizing the government, Sunak asserted that Tory ministers had lost their hold on the nation’s borders as more than 15,000 migrants had crossed the Channel this year. During the interview, Sunak vowed to push on with the government’s policy of sending migrants to Rwanda and to deal with legal challenges "robustly." He also averred that under his rule, the UK's relationship with France would be more constructive than the current scenario. "I don’t think people feel that we do [have control] when they see the pictures on their screens [of migrants arriving on beaches]," he said.

Image: AP/Representative