Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a speech on January 4 listing out his priorities for building a better future- a future that restores optimism, hope, and pride in Britain. The following is the transcript of the speech:
I want to make a simple commitment: this government will always reflect the people’s priorities. People don’t want politicians who promise the earth and then fail to deliver.
NEW Year should be a time of optimism and excitement. Yet I know many of you look ahead to 2023 with apprehension. I want you to know that as your Prime Minister, I will work night and day to change that, and quickly.
Not just by providing relief and peace of mind for the months to come – although we will. But also by changing our country… and building a better future for our children and grandchildren. A future that restores optimism, hope, and pride in Britain.
Let me first address two issues that I know are at the forefront of everyone’s minds: I know there are challenges in A&E – people are understandably anxious when they see ambulances queuing outside hospitals. You should know we’re taking urgent action: Increasing bed capacity by 7,000 more hospital beds and more people cared for at home.
Providing new funding to discharge people into social care and the community, freeing up beds. And the NHS are working urgently on further plans for A&E and ambulances. And, on strikes. There’s a lot of misinformation out there. So I want people to clearly understand the government’s position. We hugely value public sector workers like nurses.
They do incredibly important work. That’s why we want a reasonable dialogue with the unions about what’s responsible and fair for our country. And in the coming days we will update you on the government’s next steps.
Today, I want to make a simple commitment: this government will always reflect the people’s priorities. People don’t want politicians who promise the earth and then fail to deliver. They want government to focus less on politics and more on the things they care about.
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, not just talk about them.
Since I became Prime Minister, we’ve made progress: Stabilised the economy and people’s mortgage rates. Provided £26 billion of support for the cost of living.
Invested billions more in schools, the NHS and social care. Deepened ties with allies around the world on everything from Ukraine to our collective economic security…Continued our unwavering support for the armed forces in their efforts to keep us safe. And set out a concrete plan to stop the boats and tackle the unfairness of illegal migration. But of course, we need to do more.
So 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.
So, five promises – we will: Halve inflation. Grow the economy. Reduce debt. Cut waiting lists. And stop the boats. 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 we put in and the results we achieve.
These five promises are the people’s priorities. So, they’re my immediate priorities, too. But they’re not the limit of my ambitions for our country. They’re the foundation. My aim is to build a better future for our children and grandchildren. A future where they feel optimism, hope, and pride.
To realise that vision, we need to change our mindset. Politicians talk a lot about change…But the truth is, no government, no Prime Minister, can change a country by force of will or diktat alone…Real change isn’t provided – it’s created. It’s not given – it’s demanded. Not granted – but invented.
The choices we make as individuals… as workers…business owners… parents… all add up to something far greater. And if we are honest, change also requires sacrifice…and hard work. It’s a big risk for a politician to say that.
But the stakes are too high…and the rewards too great…not to level with you. So, change is hard. It takes time. But it is possible. And we know that because we’ve done it before. During Covid, we protected millions of people’s jobs and businesses – a record I’m proud of.
And we know it’s possible because you can see change happening, you can feel it.
