British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promised on Wednesday to halve the inflation rate during 2023 and grow the economy, in a speech in London on the government’s priorities for this year.
“We will halve inflation this year to ease the cost of living and give people financial security. Secondly, we will grow the economy, creating better paying jobs and opportunities across the country,” Sunak said.
UK inflation slowed to 10.7% in November, from 11.1% in October, but is still at a 40-year high.
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which oversees the UK’s public accounts, estimated in November that inflation would fall to 9.1% in December and 7.4% in 2023, but today Sunak suggested that figure could fall further to around 5%. %.
He said, “I expect that we will reach half of the inflation rate by the end of this year. Our goal is to get inflation back in place, which is the 2% inflation target that we set for the Bank of England.” journalists.
Sunak also assumed the goal of developing the British economy, which will have entered a recession at the end of 2022, after it contracted by 0.3% in the third quarter.
According to government estimates, the UK’s GDP is expected to decline by 1.4% in 2023, before rising by 1.3% in 2024.
The five priorities Rishi Sunak outlined today also include reducing public debt, reducing waiting lists for public health services and introducing legislation to combat illegal immigration across the English Channel, which connects France with the United Kingdom.
“No gimmicks, no ambiguities – either we comply or we don’t. We want to rebuild trust in politics through action. (…) I ask you to judge us by the effort we will make and the results we will achieve,” he affirmed.
The British Conservative prime minister’s speech, first of 2023, comes at a time when Rishi Sunak is under pressure to solve problems arising from recent strikes in public services, such as transport, health, and waiting time for emergency access to hospitals. .
In a poll released on 30 December by the popular polling company People Polling, the Conservative Party attracted just 19% of voting intentions, 26 percentage points behind Labor (45%), the main opposition force.
The next legislative elections must be held by January 2025, but most analysts expect the vote to take place in 2024.
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