“We will halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists, and stop the boats,” said the prime minister. Another of the prime minister’s goals is for all English students to study math until they reach the age of 18. He promised to reduce NHS waiting lists – more than 7 million people, or one-eighth of the population, are currently waiting for care in England. Mr Sunak expressed confidence that things would improve within months and asked the country to hold him accountable. The Prime Minister also promised to halve inflation this year in order to reduce the cost of living, but projections show that it is already on track to fall by more than half. And he promised to grow the economy, reduce the national debt, and stop migrant boats from crossing the Channel. In response to reporters’ questions, Mr Sunak stated that he had purposefully chosen not to set specific timeframes for his five pledges due to their “complicated” nature. Meanwhile, Labour accused him of being a “do-nothing” prime minister who’s unable to “take the big decisions to put the country first. People will be “dismayed” that Rishi Sunak “still does not have a proper plan to deal with the crisis raging in the NHS,” according to Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey. His statement also accused the PM of being “asleep at the wheel” while the health service was “stretched to breaking point”. “Every day, families across the country face personal tragedies,” he continued, “and this Conservative government either doesn’t understand or doesn’t care.” Opposition parties had already reacted to the prime minister’s speech. Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy slammed the prime minister’s plan to require all English students to study math in some form until the age of 18 and said the “lecture on the importance of math” rings hollow. Lammy accuses the government of failing to meet its target for new math teachers “every year since 2012” in a tweet. Our children need more teachers, not just words,” he continues. That is what Labour’s plan to eliminate tax breaks for private schools will accomplish.”
