First year as Prime Minister - Article by Rishi Sunak
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As I mark one year as Prime Minister, there are many moments that
fill me with pride. When I spoke about my priorities in
January, I knew they were going to be tough targets to meet, but I
made them because they’re what’s right for this country, its
economy and its people. And it’s why over the last 12 months we’ve
been committed to meeting them - building a better, brighter future
for all of us. I know this year has been tough, and
there is still...Request free trial
As I mark one year as Prime Minister, there are many moments that fill me with pride. When I spoke about my priorities in January, I knew they were going to be tough targets to meet, but I made them because they’re what’s right for this country, its economy and its people. And it’s why over the last 12 months we’ve been committed to meeting them - building a better, brighter future for all of us. I know this year has been tough, and there is still work to be done to help hardworking families across the country, but I’m proud of the steps we’ve made. Supporting people with the cost of living I know that the rising cost of living is something families across the country are struggling with. It’s why we’re working so hard to halve inflation, reduce debt and grow the economy. It’s inflation that increases living costs and our responsible plan is working, we’re on track to halve it by the end of the year – a promise many said wasn’t achievable. But we’re also providing households with the support they need right now:
See what support is available to help you. Agreed the historic Windsor Framework We’ve been supporting families and businesses in many different ways. In February we agreed the Windsor Framework. This agreement is written in the language of laws and treaties. But really, it’s about much more than that. It’s about stability in Northern Ireland. It’s about real people and real businesses. Things like goods and medicine can now move smoothly between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. International partnerships And our agreements haven’t just been at home. We’ve also been focused on strengthening global partnerships. We’ve delivered agreements with world leaders including the Atlantic Declaration with the US, The Global Combat Air Programme and the next stage in AUKUS. Because it’s these sorts of agreements that deliver security for the British people and create opportunities for hardworking families at home. Continuing to lead the international response to the conflict in Ukraine As well as meeting President Biden eight times this year, it was a privilege to have President Zelenskyy in the United Kingdom in February. I’m proud the UK has been at the forefront of international support for Ukraine. We were the first country to provide modern, Western main battle tanks and long-range precision strike cruise missiles to the country. And our support continues:
Historic Long Term Workforce Plan for the NHS And one of my proudest moments has to be backing the first ever long-term staffing plan for the NHS. Both my parents worked in healthcare growing up, so the NHS’s long-term success is personal to me. In June, in the NHS’s 75th anniversary year, we launched the first ever long-term plan for the NHS workforce. And backed it with over £2.4 billion over the next five years to make sure the NHS has the staff it needs long into the future. We are:
Tackling illegal migration I’ve also been delivering on my priority to stop the boats. Illegal migration is fundamentally unfair. It’s unfair to those who come here legally and unfair on the British people who play by the rules. In the last 12 months we’ve delivered agreements with France, Italy, Turkey, Albania, Georgia and Moldova to strengthen European action against illegal migration. In July we passed our Illegal Migration Act – and we’ve made significant progress this year:
Cracking down on anti-social behaviour And we’ve been cracking down on anti-social behaviour. This behaviour undermines the basic right of people to feel safe in the place they call home. Nobody should have to live in fear or intimidation. We should be proud of where we live.
Read more about our Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan Leading the way on AI safety And we know that AI has the potential to transform our lives. I want to make the UK is not just the intellectual home, but also the global leader in AI safety. That’s why we’re:
[Read more about our AI Safety Summit] (https://www.aisafetysummit.gov.uk/) Delivering the largest expansion of childcare Being a parent shouldn’t impact your career, but for so many parents this has become a reality. So we’re delivering the largest ever expansion of free childcare support. That is why in the spring budget the Chancellor and I announced the largest expansion to childcare to support families. Reducing the cost of childcare for working parents by an average of £6,500 a year. We’re giving nurseries over £200 million of additional funding this year to expand the free childcare hours available to parents and we are funding local authorities to help make sure parents of primary-age children can access wraparound childcare from 8am to 6pm. But thousands of parents are still not claiming the hours they are currently entitled to. [Click here to find out more.] (https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/) Delivering a world-class education system Giving children the highest possible standard of education is the single most important reason I came into politics. It’s the best economic, social and moral policy there is. It’s why we’re creating a new, combined single qualification, the Advanced British Standard, bringing together the very best of A levels and T levels and finally delivering on the promise of parity of esteem between academic and technical education. This new qualification will mean every pupil will:
This is a long-term reform. But to set it up for success now, we are investing over £600 million over the next two years on the teachers and schools and colleges who will be vital to delivering it. Making long -term decisions for this country I made the decision to redirect billions of pounds from HS2 costs into hundreds of local transport projects which matter most to people and their communities. Costs for HS2 more than doubled since originally forecast, and the project has been repeatedly delayed - that is why we are investing £36 billion from HS2 in hundreds of projects across the country. Network North will build the daily connections that people depend on. We will:
Find out more about what Network North means for you. Protecting drivers across the country Most of us use a car and for many, particularly in rural areas, it is a lifeline. So we’re backing drivers with a new long-term plan to improve journeys for millions across the country.
Read more about our plan to back drivers Creating a fairer path to Net Zero I know how important our commitment to Net Zero is, and I am proud that the UK has reduced emissions faster than any other major country. We are taking a pragmatic, proportionate and realistic path to reaching those goals. Our plans will ease the burden on working people – delivering energy security for the UK while making sure we have among the most ambitious and stringent decarbonisation targets in the world. We are:
Read more about our new approach to Net Zero Creating a smokefree generation Smoking is the single biggest cause of preventable death, causing a quarter of all cancer deaths in the UK and putting huge pressure on the NHS. But for far too many people, it’s an addiction that they can’t give up, even though most want to. There is no more addictive product that is legally sold in our shops than tobacco, which is why we must stop it before it starts. So, we’ll introduce new laws to create the first smokefree generation and, as any teacher or parent knows, we also need to crackdown on youth vaping. Here’s the plan:
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