On Wednesday (local time), Rishi Sunak made his first appearance before the opposition in Parliament as the prime minister of the United Kingdom. He pledged to bring back economic stability after his predecessor’s tax proposals caused market turmoil.
Sunak ripped up more of predecessor Liz Truss’ flagship policies, reinstating a moratorium on fracking for shale gas that Truss had lifted.
According to Sunak’s spokeswoman, plans for extensive economic deregulation, which is a key component of Truss’ plan to unleash growth, are also being examined.
As he attempts to address Britain’s numerous economic issues, Sunak, who took office on Tuesday (local time), has formed a government that combines allies with seasoned ministers from the administrations of his two immediate predecessors, Truss and Boris Johnson.
One of his first moves was to push back a significant economic report by more than two weeks, to November 17, so that the government could utilise the most precise projections possible to address the cost-of-living situation.
To regain economic stability and trust, “we will have to make unpleasant decisions,” Sunak told the House of Commons. “We’ll handle this fairly.”
“I’ll always stand up for the weakest. In Covid, we did it, and we shall do it again “said he.
Opposition lawmakers focused on the baggage his new administration brought with it: ministers from the cabinets of Truss, whose administration lasted only seven weeks, and Johnson, whose resignation came in July following a slew of ethics scandals.
unfunded tax cuts package Truss’ announcement last month weakened Britain’s already-fragile economy and destroyed his standing inside the Conservative Party by frightening financial markets with the threat of rising debt, sending the pound to record lows, and forcing the Bank of England to intervene.
Conservatives view Sunak as a reliable partner who they believe can stabilise a nation’s economy and reverse the party’s declining popularity.
For his Cabinet, Sunak selected members from various Conservative Party factions. He dismissed roughly a dozen members of Truss’ administration, although he retained a number of key figures, notably Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, and James Cleverly, the foreign secretary.
He faces a backlash for reappointing Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who resigned last week after breaching ethics rules by sending a sensitive government email from a private account.
She lambasted Truss in her resignation letter, hastening his exit as prime minister.
Braverman, a prominent member of the Conservative Party’s right wing who enrages liberals, is tasked with carrying out a contentious, blocked proposal to send some asylum seekers entering the United Kingdom on a one-way flight to Rwanda.
Sunak refuted Keir Starmer’s claim that he struck a “grubby bargain” with Braverman in exchange for her backing in the Labour Party leadership race.
The fact that Braverman returned to work less than a week after quitting and prior to an investigation into her possible violation of the ethical standards astounded her detractors.
Sunak expressed his happiness at Braverman’s return to the administration. She “made a judgement error, but she acknowledged that she raised the subject and she recognised her wrong,” he said.
Jeremy Hunt, the Treasury secretary Truss hired two weeks ago to calm the markets, was also retained by Sunak.
It is possible that his removal would have caused fresh earthquakes.
Hunt, who was scheduled to make a statement on October 31, will now have a few extra weeks to lay out the government’s plans to raise billions of pounds (dollars) to close a budgetary gap brought on by skyrocketing inflation, a weak economy, and Truss’ unstable plans.
Cabinet minister Michael Gove, brought back to the government by Sunak after being fired by Johnson and sidelined by Truss, said it was time for the Conservatives “to get back to the business of government in a quiet way”.
In a speech in London, he declared: “After a year of turmoil, after a rolling news buffet, an all-you-can-eat story extravaganza, dull is back.”
Sunak makes his first appearance in Parliament as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and repeals more Truss policies.
About Author
