Rishi Sunak: “I have a set of principles and values that are important to me that guide my approach to life and government Photo: Paul Cooper.
The general election is likely to be at least nine months away. But Rishi Sunak is clearly moving into electoral mode.
With a zeal similar to that he devotes to repeating his five priorities, the prime minister is relentless in his efforts to underscore the dividing lines between Conservatives and Labor in some parties. ' key rules.
Labor would endanger £80bn in tax revenue and 200,000 jobs if it stopped exploring new oil and gas fields in the North Sea, he said; “concrete over the village”; “to scold people for success”; introduce an “anti-car” approach into public policy; and failed to reduce the queues at the hospitals at the pace promised by the conservatives.
Rishi Sunak: “I think it's absolutely pointless, as suggested Labor Party, ban oil and gas in the North Sea.” Photo: Paul Cooper
His increasingly militant approach extends to the character of Sir Keir Starmer, who Mr. Sunak claims lacks the “principles and values” that underlie his approach as a politician.
“I did this job for a little it's been over eight months or so and one of the things is the PMQ where I see him every week. I have to say, the more I do this, the less I understand Keir Starmer and the Labor Party's views on anything that goes against common sense,” says Mr. Sunak.
“That's because, as far as I'm concerned, I have a set of principles and values that are important to me that guide my approach to life and government.
“I don't see it in the mailbox. Every week you just get a new position and he's just really happy to jump on any bandwagon and his reaction [is] to any headline or poll he saw the week before and I think people see it.”
Mr. Sunak is interviewed by The Telegraph during a visit to the headquarters and distribution center of Net World Sports, an online sports equipment retailer in Wrexham, North Wales.
Here the prime minister is taking a campaign-style approach, answering workers' questions. He ditched his usual suit and tie for a more casual look: skinny chinos and brown shoes with an open-neck shirt. He seems to enjoy questions and answers, and the key aide rolls his eyes as he continues to answer questions half an hour later, despite attempts to hint to him that it's time to move on.
On the economic front, Mr. Sunak implicitly contrasts himself and Jeremy Hunt with Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves, saying that the government has to make “difficult decisions and you need a prime minister or chancellor who is willing to do it for you, even if we get some criticism for those decisions.”< /p> 
On the economic front, Mr. Sunak implicitly contrasts himself and Jeremy Hunt with Sir Keir Starmer. and Rachel Reeves. Credit & Copyright: Roger Harris/AP
He adds, “Your life will get better. But you need someone who is willing to say no sometimes and make difficult but responsible decisions.”
Mr Sunak says his visit to Wrexham was prompted by the Downing Street meeting at the beginning Weeks with Ryan Reynolds, Hollywood actor who owns the city's football club.
However, since Labor won a seat in the Red Wall in 2019 with just over 2,000 votes, it can be assumed that this visit is linked to the Conservatives' dismal performance in recent polls and the party's defeat in two of three by-elections this month.
Like Selby in North Yorkshire, where Labor toppled a 20,000 Tory majority, Wrexham is a former mining town with a large population of working-class voters who voted to leave the EU in a 2016 referendum. In 2019, they were lured to the Conservatives by Boris Johnson, who, ahead of the 2021 Welsh parliamentary elections, visited the same firm run by Alex Loven, a 35-year-old Conservative voter from the party. .
One area of policy where Sunak, 43, is keen to show that there is a clear divide between his party and Labor is energy, which will be the focus of a series of statements this week before the prime minister leaves for his first foreign visit. family holiday 'for a very long time'.
Risk of power outage and loss of £80bn
Mr Sunak says Labor's plan to waive new oil and gas exploration licenses in the North Sea could lead to blackouts and the loss of £80 billion in government tax revenue. On the contrary, the Conservatives say they are “making the most of” Britain's remaining reserves.
“I think we all want to reach net zero, but Keir Starmer doesn't understand that people don't want to risk the lights going out. So I really want to make sure that we support our North Sea oil and gas industry, because all sane people recognize that we will need these fossil fuels as part of the transition to zero clean fuels.
“I think there is absolutely no point, as proposed by the Labor Party, to ban oil and gas from the North Sea. It will only weaken our energy security and strengthen the hands of dictators like President Putin. But it will also put at risk 200,000 jobs in around 30 different sectors of the economy, as well as jeopardize £80bn in tax revenue.
“Our approach is to support the UK energy industry. It's good for our energy security, it's good for jobs, and rightly so.”
Curbing public anger
On the car front, Mr. Sunak also sees an opportunity to capitalize on public anger over a perceived war on motorists in the form of Low Traffic Areas (LTN), which ban cars from certain areas, and the Sadiq Khan (Ulez) Ultra Low Emission Zone, which drivers will be charged £12.50 per day for using older and more polluting vehicles.
“I was a little more concerned about the position of the Labor Party. This is pretty anti-car behaviour.
“They criticized me for freezing the duties on fuel; not wanting to punish ecofans for traffic violations; the Welsh Labor government blocked 44 out of 59 road plans; Get away.
“These are all examples of an approach that, I think, does not understand what families across the country want, how they live. The vast majority of people in the country use and depend on their cars to get around. When I was fortunate enough to be back home in North Yorkshire, it better reflects life in much of the country where cars are important.
“I just want people to know that I’m on their side by helping them use their cars to get things done. all the tasks that are important to them.”
Ulez, according to Mr. Sunak, actually collects fees. to “take the kids to football practice, do weekly shopping, or visit the GP.”
LTN National Survey
The prime minister has asked the Department of Transportation to conduct an LTN check across the country, based on concerns that schemes that often prevent cars from entering certain roads are creating congestion in other areas and hampering delivery vans, ambulances and cars. transportation for the elderly and families.
More broadly, he promises to take a “pragmatic and proportionate” approach to achieving Target Zero by 2050.
He says: “I'm a dad and I'm a conservative. And for both of those reasons, I care about what we leave for the next generation, and I want to make sure that we actually leave the environment and our climate in a better state than I found them. I feel this responsibility keenly.
“But I'm going to do it pragmatically and proportionately, and not increase spending or trouble people's lives unnecessarily, especially at a time like this when families are already grappling with the effects of inflation more than any of us would want.”
The prime minister has not hesitated to fly to Wrexham despite criticism of his use of helicopters to cross the country. “I just flew in the air – you can actually see it from space,” he jokes at one point about the retailer's sprawling distribution center.
Increasing pressure from Conservative MPs
His promise of pragmatism and proportionality may seem like a prelude to postponing a planned 2030 ban on petrol and diesel car sales in the face of growing pressure from Conservative MPs who fear electric cars remain out of reach for many of their constituents.
But Mr Sunak dismisses the idea of a decline, saying: “The 2030 target has been our policy for a long time and remains so. We are not considering postponing until this date.”
In an address to Net World Sports workers, the prime minister is keen to highlight the growing popularity of electric vehicles by asking employees to raise their hand if they have a battery. operating vehicle. When only one of those present – a photojournalist – raises his hand, Mr. Sunak seems surprised.
“One! One man. I don't believe it,” he says. “Last year in the UK, almost one in five cars sold were not on petrol.”
Mr Loven chimes in to admit he failed to install electric vehicle charging points in the company’s sprawling car park, which is filled with dozens of vehicles .
“It was hard here”
But, of course, this is a more important factor. can be affordable: electric cars typically cost around £10,000 more than their petrol equivalents, and packers working at his firm's warehouse earn up to £25,000 a year.
The resident keeps talking Prime Minister: “It was hard here. We've all had to make terrible decisions.”
She is protesting “smashing profits” from firms such as British Gas, which posted a record £969m half-year profit last week. Here, too, Sunak is trying to draw a clear dividing line with Labor after first opening up about the work he has done to subsidize electricity bills during the cost of living crisis and impose a contingency tax on firms that have benefited from higher prices.< /p>
“I don’t want a society or a country – I don’t believe in it – where we scold people for their success,” he says. “People who have built something really hard, honestly and honestly, should enjoy this success. Because I think it's fair.
“My parents did just that, they worked hard. My grandparents worked their socks off, I worked my socks off.
“Where things are unfair and excessive, as in this case with energy companies, we intervene. But it shouldn't be something we do all the time.”
“We build houses the right way.” in places'
On housing, Mr Sunak says the Conservatives will “build houses in the right places, unlike the Labor Party, which just wants to impose top-down targets and concrete the countryside.”
He strongly denies the Tory accusation in housing inaction, insisting, “We said in our manifesto that we would build a million new homes. We are on our way to building a million new homes.
“If you look at the number of houses sold in this parliament, on average it will be about a third higher than under the last Labor government.
“I do not agree that somehow we are failing or not deliver.”
Home ownership is one area where Mr. Sunak has his daughters Krishna, 12, and Anushka, 10, in mind when he considers what ministers can provide for younger generations .
“When it comes to letting them grow up and having everyone like them own their own home, that’s very important to me,” he says.
“I remember. what it's like to receive the keys to your first apartment and it's a really special moment. I want this dream to become a reality for the younger generation.”
“Not very into math”
Prime Minister jokes that his daughters are “a good focus group”, adding that the couple are “completely different, so I get different opinions on any topic.”
One of the hotspots between the younger Sunakami and their father seems to be the prime minister's desire to ensure that all children learn math before they turn 18.
“They didn't really like my math lessons . 18 politics. Therefore, my desire to change the culture of mathematics and numeracy in our country starts at home.
“I think this is really important. I think in order to prepare our young people for fantastic careers and fulfilling lives, they need to be confident in the numbers.”
Mr. Sunak will have the opportunity to discuss this with his daughters when he and his wife Akshata Murthy take their family on their first overseas vacation since 2018 this week.
What does Sunak's family vacation include?
“This will be my first family vacation in a very long time. So that's what I'm looking forward to. In fact, I enjoy just spending time with my family, because the concept of a family vacation is something that I have not even had the opportunity to enjoy properly for several years abroad.
“So it’s a lot of dining out together, going to the beach, going for walks, biking and all that. It's just a fun time together – the four of us – which I'm looking forward to.”
“Pretty resilient kids.”
Mr Sunak admits his daughters can't live a “normal” life in Downing Street, but last weekend I was glad to be able to take them to the cinema in his constituency to see Barbies.
“It may not be completely normal for them due to the nature of this work, but they are quite cheerful children. “He says.
Here Mr Sunak and Sir Keir can find common ground, given the Labor leader's admission last week that his 15-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter would be 'difficult' to find if their father becomes prime minister.
For Mr. Sunak, Barbie was “good escapism.”
“There were no political meetings or red boxes, so overall a good way to spend Saturday.”
This week's vacation may be one of Mr. Sunak's last chances to escape before his unofficial campaign begins in earnest this fall.
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