PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak decided the time was right to call a General Election because “economic stability has been restored” and the country has “turned a corner”.
He told GB News: “We’ve just seen that inflation has returned to normal, the economy is growing at a healthy rate. Again, wages have been rising sustainably for several months now and, although I know not everyone is feeling the full benefits of that yet, it’s clear that we have turned a corner.
“So now is the moment to look to the future and the world is clearly in a more uncertain place than it’s been in decades.
“And the question for the country is the choice of this election is who’s got the boldest ideas that clear his plan to provide a secure future for you and your family? That’s the choice of this election.
“Now that the economic stability has been restored, we can turn to that question and that’s the conversation I look forward to having…over the next few weeks.”
In a discussion with Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello, he continued: “If you look at what’s just happened over the last few weeks, it’s clear that the economy has turned a corner in the economy and economic stability is the foundation of everything else we want to achieve as a country.
“Inflation is now back to normal, wages have been rising, energy bills are falling, the economy is growing, and that now gives us the opportunity to talk properly about the future.
“I’m clear that it’s only me, it’s only the Conservative Party that has a record of bold action, that’s got a clear plan. And that’s how we’re going to deliver a secure future for the country.
“You mentioned one thing, the Rwanda scheme. That’s a great thing to be talking about at this election.”
He added: “Border security is important, making sure that we have fairness in our migration system is really important and there’s a clear choice at this election.
“I’ve got a plan. I’m prepared to take bold action and as you’ve seen over the last week or two, multiple other countries across Europe have realised that our approach is the right one.
“You need to be able to send illegal migrants to a safe third country to break the cycle, to end the incentive for them to come, to have a deterrent. So everyone else is starting to agree with my approach, which is bold.
“The one person that doesn’t is Keir Starmer. That’s a choice of this election. He thinks that we should just offer an amnesty to illegal migrants, to make us the soft touch of Europe.
“It would make us a magnet for thousands of migrants coming from everywhere. So that’s the choice of this election. Do you think my plan is the right one?
“Do you think I’m the one that’s taking bold action to secure our borders and to stop the boats? Or do you think he’s going to do that?”
