Embattled British PM Sunak promises to tackle pressing problems facing country

Britain's beleaguered prime minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday promised to tackle the country's biggest problems, including soaring inflation and countrywide strikes, in his first major speech after taking office.

Sunak promised to turn the economy around, cut hospital waiting lists and stop migrant boats crossing the Channel before the general elections expected in 2024. He said “something has to change” in the health service and promised more choices for patients.

Sunak promised to work “night and day” to deliver on the challenges during this parliament and to create “a future that restores optimism, hope and pride in Britain.”

The government has pinned much of the blame on economic recovery from the Covid era, but critics say it is the ruling Conservatives’ incompetence and leadership instability that has left the economy in a dire state.

"I think people do accept that many of these challenges are, at least in part, the legacy of COVID and impacted by the war in Ukraine. But that's not an excuse. We need to address these problems, not just talk about them," the prime minister said.

Labor’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the issues facing the UK were a result of Sunak's own party policies. "That's the record the Conservative Party over these last 13 years and the empty pledges that we heard from the prime minister I think just show how out of touch he really is with what's going on out there in the country at the moment."

MG