RISHI Sunak has urged voters to stick to his plan declaring that “confidence and optimism” is returning.
The Prime Minister hailed the progress saying it was his “number one priority” to fix the economy when he came to office.
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He told The Sun’s Never Mind The Ballots show that tax cuts are helping workers along with lower energy bills and higher wages.
Mr Sunak concedes that the war in Ukraine and the Covid-19 pandemic knocked the country off course – which has left people feeling frustrated.
In a no-holds barred grilling, the Prime Minister also:
The PM told The Sun’s YouTube show: “I really believe actually that at the start of this year that things are looking better and we have turned a corner.
“You can see that most clearly with the economy. When I came into this job, my number one priority to fix.
“Inflation has now fallen from 11 per cent to 3.4 per cent, energy bills are falling by hundreds of pounds, wages are rising.
“And because of all of that we have been able to significantly start cutting people’s taxes by £900 for an average worker.
“When you put all of that together you can start to see signs of confidence and optimism returning.
“My pitch will be simply, the plan we have put in place is starting to show the change that people want to see and if we stick to it, there is a brighter future ahead.”
Only this week, mortgage approvals reached a 17-month high in a welcome boost for the government.
The number rose by 7.7 per cent to 60,383 in February, up from 56,087 in January and the most since the disastrous mini-Budget of September 2022.
There is speculation that the Bank of England will cut interest rates in the early summer.
Elsewhere, the PM said he he doesn’t know the date of the general election but added Boris Johnson is welcome to join the campaign trail.
Mr Sunak insisted he hadn’t made his mind up on when the country goes to the polls – adding to even more speculation about the timing.
He said: “What matters is the general election and that’s what I’m focused on.
“I have been clear actually, I’ve said that my working assumption is we’ll have an election in the second half of the year.”
He added: “But ultimately we have a long-standing tradition. It’s Prime Ministers that decide when we’re going to call an election and I haven’t decided because I’m busy focusing on the things that matter to people.”
BOJO WELCOME ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL
But he told The Sun’s YouTube show that Mr Johnson would be welcome to join the campaign trail as the Prime Minister gears up for the election.
The ex-Prime Minister could be deployed in battleground seats to shore up Tory support after his stonking 80-seat majority in 2019.
Mr Sunak insisted BoJo may be drafted in as part of a last-ditch attempt to stave off an election annihilation.
He told the show that any sign of a frosty relationship may have thawed since last year.
The PM said: “I spoke to him in person at the end of last year.
“Anyone from the Conservative family who wants to see a Conservative re-elected and who doesn’t think Keir Starmer is the right person to lead our country will be welcome on the campaign trail.
“Ultimately that’s the choice. It’s myself or Keir Starmer after the next election.
“If you want to cut taxes, if you want a better approach to net zero, if you want a better approach to immigration, we’re the ones to do that for you.”
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