Prime Minister Rishi Sunak arrives in Northern Ireland as part of whirlwind UK campaign tour
The Prime Minister has arrived in Northern Ireland for the fourth leg of his whirlwind tour of the UK.
Rishi Sunak visited an advanced maritime manufacturing facility in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter, where he spoke to apprentices and rode on a small zero-emission boat.
The boat has been manufactured by Artemis Technologies, a company that has received government funding to support its work.
Mr Sunak, accompanied by Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, spoke to staff from Artemis and took part in some of the manufacturing processes before speaking to the media about energy prices, television debates and legislation now being hurried through Parliament.
Mr Sunak said the fall in the energy price cap reported on Friday shows that “our plan is working” and that “the economy has turned a corner”. “Inflation is now back to normal, wages have been rising faster than prices for almost a year and at the beginning of this year, the economy grew at a very healthy rate. “And that’s why now is the right time to think about our future. “And what I’ll be talking to the British people about over the next few weeks is our bold action that we’re prepared to take, working to a clear plan that we can see as having real effects on people for the better. “And that’s why we can deliver a secure future for everyone in our country.”
The Prime Minister repeated his wish to debate his Labour opponent Sir Keir Starmer after accusing him earlier of lacking the “courage” to take part in weekly televised debates during the election campaign. “Well, I heard this morning that he said he wanted to debate the British people rather than me,” Rishi Sunak said. “I think what the British people want are answers – answers to the questions about what he would actually do if he became prime minister, and how much it’s going to cost them in higher taxes. “I think those are the answers that he should be providing. “You know, for my part, I’m very happy to debate Keir Starmer so I can set out what I want to do for this country, taking bold action working towards a clear plan and delivering a secure future for everyone. “That’s the choice of this election. It’s either going to be Keir Starmer or me that’s Prime Minister on July 5, and he should want to debate me “I want to debate him and I hope that he takes up the offer.”
Mr Sunak has said he is “disappointed” that his flagship Bill banning young people from ever being able to smoke tobacco legally will not pass before Parliament shuts down on Friday ahead of the General Election. The shelving of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, as well as his admission that deportation flights to Rwanda would not take off before polling day, leave the Prime Minister’s legacy increasingly threadbare. The smoking Bill is not included in the legislation that will be rushed through by MPs ahead of Parliament being prorogued on Friday, during a period known as “wash-up”. Mr Sunak told reporters in Belfast: “There’s always a normal process at the end of a Parliament to see which legislation you can pass in the time that’s available.” On the smoking ban, he said he was “of course disappointed not to be able to get that through at the end of the session given the time available”. “But what I’d say is that’s evidence of the bold action that I’m prepared to take. That’s the type of Prime Minister I am. That’s the type of leadership that I bring. “I stepped up to do something that is bold, that will make an enormous difference in the future of our country.” The Bill would make it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone born after January 1 2009, with the aim of creating a “smoke-free” generation.
The Prime Minister highlighted the passing of legislation to quash the convictions of hundreds of subpostmasters caught up in the Post Office Horizon scandal. The Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill will receive royal assent on the final sitting day of Parliament before it halts its business ahead of the July 4 General Election. The government also promised to schedule a Bill enabling compensation to be paid to the victims of the contaminated blood scandal. Mr Sunak said: “I’m pleased that yesterday we got the Horizon Bill through to make sure that we can deliver compensation and justice to the postmasters who were so badly impacted by what I described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice that we’ve ever known. “Today we’ll be debating the Bills that will ensure that the compensation authority for those impacted by the infected blood scandal get the justice that they deserve. So we are making progress.”
He also signalled the door is open for former prime minister Boris Johnson to campaign for the Tories.
The Prime Minister said he would welcome “any Conservative to come and join the campaign” and that he has “been in touch with Boris in the past and I said I’m very proud of the work that we did together”.
Mr Sunak told broadcasters: “I’m very proud of the record of the Conservative government over the last 14 years. And of course we haven’t got everything right and circumstances have been difficult, but there’s an enormous amount to be proud of.
“And when it comes to Boris he was of course the person who got Brexit done, ensured we had the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe and was the first to make sure that we provided support to Ukraine.
“And I think all Conservatives will want to join the campaign because all Conservatives are united in wanting to see a Conservative government at the next election, because it’s the Conservatives that have got a clear plan that we’re working towards.”
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