After 14 years of Tory chaos our country is less secure, and it is working people who are paying the price

The Prime Minister's seventh reset in 18-months is as empty as the previous ones. 14 years of Tory chaos have left Britain less secure, with working people paying the price.

For all Rishi Sunak's hollow words, the reality is stark:

• This is the only parliament on record where people's standard of living will be lower at the end of it than the beginning.[i]
• ⁠The Tories crashed the economy, sending mortgages soaring and inflicting misery on millions. Working people face the highest tax burden since WWII[ii] while national debt is at its highest level since the 1960s.[iii]
• Rishi Sunak's completely unfunded £46 billion promise to scrap national insurance would put pensions at risk, leaving those planning their retirement less secure.

• Just last week the Tories slipped out details of a plan to free dangerous prisoners up to 70 days early.[iv] Ministry of Justice figures reveal that the prison estate is running at 99% capacity.[v]
• 90% of crimes are currently going unsolved, with criminals getting off scot-free and victims paying the price.[vi]
• The Conservatives have failed to protect Britain's borders, with the Home Office admitting it has lost at least 21,000 asylum seekers in five years – and the true figure could be far higher.[vii] Meanwhile over 52,000 people are still stuck in the Tory asylum backlog, living in taxpayer funded asylum accommodation and hotels.[viii]
• Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace admitted that the Conservatives had “hollowed out” the armed forces.[ix] A British General said the Army was “20 years out of date”, the Navy “structurally underfunded” and the RAF “at the edge of their engineering and support capacity”.[x]
• The Foreign Secretary refuses to come clean about his relationship with China, despite cyber-attacks and democratic interference. [xi] 

Rishi Sunak has been forced to relaunch his failing leadership, on average, every couple of months (71 days), because of the chaos at the heart of the Conservative Party.[xii] He is too weak and out of touch to tackle the challenges that our country faces.

The only way to stop the chaos, turn the page and start to renew is with a Labour government.

Jonathan Ashworth MP, Labour's Shadow Paymaster General, said:

“Rishi Sunak's seventh reset in 18 months is just another desperate attempt to hide from the appalling record of this failed Tory government.

“After 14 years of leaving the country less secure at home and abroad, the Tories have forfeited the right to talk about security.

“Millions of people are paying more on their mortgages, crime is going unsolved, dangerous prisoners are being let out early, the armed forces have been hollowed out and the NHS is on its knees. That is this government's record and the only way to turn the page and end the chaos is with a Labour government.”

Ends.

Notes:

The many faces of Rishi Sunak:

• Mr Steady: Five pledges, 4 January 2023, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-outlines-his-five-key-priorities-for-2023 
• Mr Modern: Updating the machinery of government for the world of today and tomorrow, 7 February 2023, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-government-deliver-for-the-british-people 
• Let Rishi be Rishi: Conservative Party Conference 2023 reset, 5 October 2023, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67009195 
• Mr Change: King's Speech, 7 November 2023, https://twitter.com/RishiSunak/status/1721859440628871479 
• Calling in the old guard: November reshuffle, 13 November 2023, https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-sunak-sacks-interior-minister-braverman-2023-11-13/ 
• Stick to the plan: The economy is turning a corner, 18 March 2023, https://news.sky.com/story/economy-turning-a-corner-rishi-sunak-seeks-to-turn-around-fortunes-amid-plot-rumours-13097025 
  
  

[i] Resolution Foundation, Chancellor reverses the policy priorities of the 2010s, rehashes its austerity, and records the first ever polling-day-to-polling-day fall in living standards, March 2024

[ii] Resolution Foundation, A pre-election Statement: Putting the Autumn Statement 2023 in context, November 2023

[iii] OBR public finances databank April 2024. Available here: https://obr.uk/data/

[iv] Telegraph, 28 April 2024, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/28/prisoners-early-release-jail-tories-cover-up-violence-sex/

[v] BBC News, 8 May 2024, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68976494.amp; and Prison Population Figures 2024, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-population-figures-2024

[vi] Only 10.1 per cent of crimes led to positive action (charge, out-of-court disposal, diversionary activity) last year:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6628ed2fb0ace32985a7e5e2/outcomes-dec23-tables-250424.ods, Table 2.1

[vii] Daily Mail, 6 May 2024, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13388841/amp/The-Home-Office-loses-21-000-asylum-seekers-five-years-true-figure-far-higher.html

[viii] 52,000 people have applied for asylum in the UK since July: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-relating-to-the-illegal-migration-bill

[ix] The Times, 22 January 2023, https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dbb9b704-9a8e-11ed-8201-2ed91f44d1e8?shareToken=8d385969542a7b26b20644b7a8e16d40 

[x] Guardian, 14 November 2017, https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/nov/14/british-forces-no-longer-fit-for-purpose-former-uk-service-chiefs-warn

[xi] The FCDO has faced criticism for significantly delayed answers to FoI requests around Lord Cameron's lobbying on behalf of the Chinese government, by The Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund. Twitter, 21 March 2024, https://twitter.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1770769673425911970

[xii]