Sunak pledges to halve inflation and fight illegal immigration

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In his first major speech of 2023 on Wednesday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to halve inflation, grow the UK economy and ending illegal immigration.

In a speech outlining the Conservative government's priorities for the year ahead, Sunak focused on tackling the slowdown in the UK economy and promised to reduce the national debt. He also pledged to pass new laws to stop migrants arriving on British shores in small boats, as well as to reduce massive backlogs in Britain's public health service.

"These are the priorities of the people. These are the priorities of your government. And we will have achieved them or not," Sunak said.

"No tricks, no ambiguities, either we deliver for you, either we don't. We will rebuild trust in politics through action, or not at all," he added.

Sunak, who came to power in October after a tumultuous year in British politics that saw the resignation of two other prime ministers, stressed he would ensure stability his top priority was to 'halve inflation this year to ease the cost of living and give people financial security."

Sunak's predecessor, Liz Truss, unveiled a disastrous set of reductions. unfunded tax actions in September and was forced to resign after less than two months on the job. His policies have sent the pound plummeting, pushing up the cost of borrowing and triggering emergency intervention by the UK central bank.

Since Sunak replaced Truss at the end of October, the UK economy subsided, but it still faced a cost- the crisis of life and worsening labor unrest as key public sector workers, nurses and paramedics at worker training, organize disruptive strikes to demand better wages to keep pace with soaring inflation.

UK inflation was 10.7% in November – down slightly from from October – but it's still near the four-decade high. Energy and food costs have soared, largely due to Russia's war on Ukraine, and living standards have plunged for millions of Britons.

In recent weeks, Sunak's government has also come under increasing pressure to address failings in the public health care system, with many front-page headlines focusing on the shortage of hospital beds and the record wait times needed to see a doctor or get an ambulance.

Authorities have blamed the high number of flu and COVID-19 cases, but health chiefs say the problems are long-standing...