The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, is gearing up to launch Britain’s next general election campaign this Wednesday, wrapping up the annual conference of the ruling Conservative party with his much-anticipated keynote speech.
The UK’s leader is up against a daunting challenge as he endeavours to rally his embattled Conservative party for victory in the forthcoming 2024 election, following several years marked by detrimental scandals and significant economic hardships.
The party has been in power since 2010 but has consistently found itself trailing behind the main opposition, Labour, in polls throughout Sunak’s leadership.
While grassroots supporters have convened in Manchester, in northwest England, since Sunday, there are indications that the gap may be closing, giving off a glimmer of hope.
Rishi Sunak, who is 43 years old, is scheduled to address the audience at 11:45 am (1045 GMT), and there is an anticipation that he will carry on with his recent transition into campaign mode. This shift comes after a series of more populist policy announcements and strategic changes aimed at creating divisions within the Labour Party.
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In the lead-up to the speech, Defence Minister Grant Shapps effectively acknowledged that the prime minister was about to reveal the cancellation of the northern leg of the HS2 train line, an immensely contentious decision that has cast a shadow over the four-day yearly gathering.
‘We have to wait for his actual speech to hear exact confirmation,’ Shapps, a former transport minister, told BBC television.
‘The balance that has to be made… is whether it makes sense to carry on building that given that the world has changed,’ he added.
Having served as prime minister for almost a year, Sunak is likely to frame the decision as fiscally responsible, citing the rising costs. This is part of his effort to present himself as a leader who is ready to make challenging and occasionally unpopular choices.
‘I do things properly and carefully, responsibly and sensibly… but I’m also willing to do things that are bold, that are different,’ Sunak told ITV News on Tuesday.
The leader of the United Kingdom referenced his recent easing of the pace of the country’s net-zero agenda and his proposals for new policies that favour motorists as instances.
‘I have a different approach to politics. I think people have tired of politicians who are… focused on the easy way out, short-term decisions,’ he told Sky News in another pre-speech interview.