CHARGED-UP Rishi Sunak unloaded on his “extreme” Net Zero critics as he opened his first Conservative Party Conference as Prime Minister.
After delaying the 2030 ban on new petrol cars and vowing to end the war on motorists, he warned: “They came for me and they will keep coming.”
1
Addressing Tory faithful last night for the first time since he seized the keys to No10 last year – despite losing a membership vote – Mr Sunak insisted his leadership was stepping up a gear.
And he batted away calls for immediate tax cuts by comparing himself to prudent Margaret Thatcher.
Pitching himself as the real change option at next year’s election, the PM said: “We can’t be dominated in this debate by people on the extremes who just think that you should do this at absolutely any cost for people, ordinary people.”
Earlier on Sunday he had made a passionate defence of his slowing down of green targets, hitting out: “Change may be uncomfortable for people. People may be critical of it, but I believe on doing the right thing for the country.”
And he said he would not flinch just because there had been a backlash, adding: “I’m not going to shy away from that.”
“If I believe the right thing to do is to chart a new course for net zero that will save ordinary families £5,000, £10,000, £15,000, £20,000, I’m going to do it.”
He insisted “it’s fine to criticise me, it’s fine to disagree with me – but then you have to explain to families why you think it’s right to impose those costs.
“I don’t think it is and that’s why we’re charting a new course.”
On the first full day of the conference, Mr Sunak continued to be dogged by calls for tax cuts while taking heavy fire for over threatening to axe the northern leg of HS2.
Cabinet big beast Michael Gove stepped up the pressure to cut taxes before the next election.
The Levelling Up Secretary called for giveaways suggesting income tax or national insurance is reduced rather than inheritance tax.
He said: “We should incentivise people to work harder, we should make sure they are better rewarded for the enterprise, the effort, the endeavour that they put in.”
But Mr Sunak is resisting the demands saying the best tax cut he can deliver is to bring down inflation hitting households.
The PM said it was a “deeply Conservative approach” saying Margaret Thatcher and Nigel Lawson adopted the same approach.
He said: “This is in the tradition of great Conservative governments, bringing inflation down, because that’s the bedrock on which you build a strong economy.
“And that is the best way to help people with the cost of living.”
“It’s inflation that’s putting the prices of things up, inflation that’s making people feel poorer, the quicker we bring inflation down, the better it is, and that’s why it’s the right priority, and we are making good progress.”
Mr Sunak was buoyed by a number of recent opinion polls showing Labour’s lead narrowing to its lowest levels since he took office.
But Tory party chief Greg Hands said the Government will enter next year’s General Election as “the underdogs”.
He told members: “I know in recent years you will have had difficult conversations with voters, I certainly have.
“But I would say just three things about those conversations. First, every single conversation I’ve had on the doorstep has been improved by the mention of Rishi Sunak and the job that he does as our Prime Minister.
“Second, that there is no enthusiasm for Sir Keir Starmer and even less trust in him. And third, that wherever Labour runs something in the country, they run it badly.”
Mr Hands also accused Sir Keir of being a “man who will literally say anything that suits him at that time”, before showing the audience a pair of flip-flops featuring the Labour leader.
All change, all change at Manchester
ALL change, all change at Manchester, writes Harry Cole.
There’s a new Rishi Sunak in town – or so the conference spin goes.
All General Elections are about change – Keir Starmer wants it to be a change of government with weary voters desperate for something different.
But now Sunak is getting on the change train – betting the house that he can put enough distance between himself and the past 13 years of Tory rule.
The PM’s pollsters have told him – despite being at the centre through the chaos of Boris and Liz Truss – voters still see him as relatively new on the political scene.
Sunak’s team don’t want to get to polling day and think they could have done more – so expect the kitchen sink this week in Manchester.
But change is risky – as the barrage of criticism the PM has already had so far shows.
It’s a roll of the dice by a leader with few options left.
