In his New Year’s speech last year, the then newly appointed prime minister said, United Kingdom, Rishi AltarIt identified five priorities for 2023: reduce inflation halfway, encourage economic growthto reduce debt open to the public, shorten waiting lists public health care put an end to their irregular arrival immigrants across the English Channel. “As prime minister, I must say what my goals will be, and if I do not achieve the goals, I will be directly responsible,” he said in early January. A year later, Britain’s ‘prime minister’ has only made his first priority by delving into the country’s internal crisis. Conservative Party and fuels doubts about his leadership at the start of what is expected to be a tumultuous year.
Despite failing on almost all of its objectives, the Government underlined the progress made so far on economic issues. Sunak puffed his chest up in mid-November after inflation hit 4.6% in October, a long way from 10.7% by the end of 2022. Prime minister attributed to making “difficult decisions” and financial discipline. However, some economists argue that the task of reducing inflation is bank of england It turned out that the policies supported by the Ministry of Finance did little to achieve this goal.
Economy and health
Two other economic targets remain a headache for the prime minister. economy The country shrank by 0.1 per cent in the third quarter of 2023, while growth did not exceed 0.3 per cent in the previous two quarters, according to the Office for National Statistics’ latest review. In the case of public debt, this ratio reached 97.8 percent. GDP in October 2023, two points higher than the percentage recorded in October last year. The government acknowledges that: economic growth far from expected, but insists recently announced tax cuts will help the economy rise above 2024 forecasts.
For Sunak, the real problem lies beyond economic plans in two other goals. NHS waiting lists fell slightly in November after reaching a record of more than 7.77 million people for non-urgent examinations the previous month. But despite this drop, the data is still well above pre-pandemic levels, when about 4.6 million people were on the waiting list to start treatment. Repeated government delays strikes It was called out for the fact that healthcare workers, especially junior doctors, have not yet made an agreement regarding the increase. fees.
irregular migration
The failure to reduce waiting lists undermines the Executive’s credibility, but the biggest source of contention lies in the problems with ending waiting lists. irregular migration. Sunak has so far managed to reduce arrivals via the Channel by around 30% compared to the previous year, when more than 45,000 people were registered. But both hard wing The leaders of his party and the most radical voters find the Prime Minister’s efforts insufficient and demand stronger measures to implement the plan to deport asylum seekers as soon as possible. asylum To Rwanda.
Sunak is aware that he must make progress on this issue in order to have a chance in the face of the crisis. general electionsIt is planned to be held in spring or autumn 2024. Approval of the protection bill in Parliament shoots The African country will be key to maintaining the leadership of the Conservative Party, while on the economic front, all eyes will be on the new tax cuts announced by the Finance Minister. Jeremy HuntHe is expected to announce this in his spring speech, scheduled for March 6. Rumors of a possible snap election before the summer are growing stronger, leaving Sunak running out of time to re-orient himself on a course that has, for now, brought him more problems than results.