Rishi Sunak has moved to position himself as an agent of change, as a new poll suggested the gap with Labour has narrowed to ten points.
The Prime Minister said his decision to hit the brakes on the rush to net zero last month was just the first in a series of announcements that would demonstrate the Government is ‘doing things differently, making decisions that will make a difference to people’s lives’.
During an interview with BBC‘s Laura Kuenssberg show, Mr Sunak said repeated 15 times that he was committed to driving through ‘change’. ‘Now what I want to do is show the country how we’re going to change things for the better in the long term – and that means doing things differently, making decisions that will make a difference to people’s lives, even if I get criticism for them.
‘That’s what the net zero decision was about and that’s how I plan to lead.’
Michael Gove said the PM would use this week’s conference – probably the last before next year’s general election – to ‘lay out a vision for change in education, levelling up and the NHS‘.
Rishi Sunak (pictured) moved to position himself as an agent of change, as a new poll suggested the gap with Labour has narrowed to ten points
Tory strategists believe it is vital to neuter efforts by Labour to portray next year’s election as a ‘time for a change’, in which Sir Keir Starmer presents himself as the candidate of change, while Mr Sunak is left as the status quo candidate after 14 years of Conservative-led government.
The PM cited the change of tack on net zero as evidence he was willing to refine the Government’s approach where it was placing unreasonable burdens on the public.
In a surprise announcement, Mr Sunak delayed a ban on new petrol and diesel cars by five years and watered down plans to outlaw the installation of new gas boilers.
Tory strategists believe it is vital to neuter efforts by Labour to portray next year’s election as a ‘time for a change’, in which Sir Keir Starmer (pictured) presents himself as the candidate of change, while Mr Sunak is left as the status quo candidate after 14 years of Conservative-led government
The move triggered a backlash from environmental campaigners. But Mr Sunak said that it would provide relief to millions of families worried about the cost of the race to net zero.
He said: ‘I want to save families that five, ten, 15, £20,000, that’s why I made the decision I did, so – and that’s why I feel good about it.’
An Opinium poll for the Observer found Labour’s lead over the Conservatives has dropped by five points since the announcement of the net zero package.
The study of nearly 3,000 people put Labour support down by two points on 39 per cent, while the Conservatives were up by three on 29. The ten-point lead is the narrowest since Mr Sunak became Prime Minister last year.
Content source – www.soundhealthandlastingwealth.com
