‘Who do you trust to keep you safe?’: Sunak to fight next election on UK’s security

Rishi Sunak made a promise to base his campaign for the upcoming election on the United Kingdom's security. During his powerful political speech, he went on the offensive against Labour and Keir Starmer. He emphasized that the next election will center on a straightforward decision: "Who do you have faith in to safeguard you?"

During his speech, the prime minister declared that he would position the Conservatives as the party that's forward-thinking. Moreover, he justified the party's performance over the previous 14 years and pinpointed that the Labour leader's previous actions would prevent him from successfully guarding the country's safety.

Starmer responded to the attacks by expressing his disagreement. He mentioned that the government has another attempt at resetting the situation, which is the seventh in less than two years. He emphasized the significance of national security and how it is crucial to have a trustworthy plan in place to achieve it. In his opinion, the current administration lacks a credible plan, and he questioned their record towards national security. Starmer also pointed out the government's actions towards the armed forces and how they have been misguided and resulted in a significant loss of resources, including a waste of billions of pounds on procurement.

During a speech he gave to the Policy Exchange thinktank, Sunak talked about various topics. Although he did not specify an election day, he was open to debating Starmer multiple times during the campaign.

Sunak stated that Keir Starmer has shifted his support from Jeremy Corbyn to Natalie Elphicke, all for the purpose of obtaining power, regardless of the consequences.

The prime minister's speech marks the conclusion of a challenging two-week period. During this time, he faced several setbacks in the local elections, such as the loss of the West Midlands' Conservative mayor, Andy Street. Moreover, one of his backbench MPs, Elphicke, switched parties and joined Labour, citing the prime minister's inability to address the issue of migrant arrivals on small boats.

According to Sunak, the upcoming half-decade will be fraught with difficulties and pose a serious danger to the UK. The country faces threats from various authoritarian regimes like Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China. Adding to the complexity are issues such as illegal immigration, divisive cultural matters, and the transformative impact of artificial intelligence.

Individuals who hold extreme views are taking advantage of the widespread conflicts occurring in the world to create division among us. They are misusing the fundamental principles of our liberal democracy, such as the freedom of expression and the right to protest, to bully, intimidate, and use violence against others. They are even going as far as to sing songs promoting hatred towards Jewish people on public roads. Meanwhile, some groups who are fervent in promoting their beliefs on gender are interfering with children's sexual education. Moreover, there are vocal and belligerent fringe groups that are striving to enforce their opinions on everyone through tactics such as "cancel culture."

The head of government expressed positivity towards what lies ahead and intends to present the upcoming election as a decision between factions that are forward-thinking versus those that are preoccupied by the past. They conveyed that Conservatives have a variety of proposals, including implementing a prohibition on smoking and improving methods for detecting cancer, as well as enabling all students who are 18 years old or older to study mathematics.

Recognizing the concerning state of his political party in the surveys, Sunak mentioned that the Labour party was taking on the election using only negative tactics. He admitted that it's possible for them to win by bringing down the atmosphere with their discussions on negative cycles, manipulating and causing distress about pension schemes. However, Sunak doesn't believe that their strategy will prove successful.

The Labour party lacks innovative concepts. Whatever policies they have come up with, they have backed out from them. Their only strategy seems to be an attempt to demotivate you about your nation, so that you don't muster the enthusiasm to ponder over how they would make use of their mighty authority, which they crave for.

Sunak changed his tune from his previous speech at the party conference where he promised to put an end to the "unchanged conditions" that have been present for the past three decades. Instead, he chose to champion his party's performance in governance. He cited the generation of four million employment opportunities, successful implementation of the Covid vaccine distribution, bolstering the NHS funding, upholding the pension triple lock, roll-out of universal credit, and reduction of carbon emissions as their notable accomplishments.