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Rishi Sunak has said the next five years will be “some of the most dangerous… our country has ever known” – but refused to set a date for a general election.
The prime minister said voters would face a choice between “the future and the past” at the general election and insisted he was “confident” the Tories could defeat Labour.
“It is only us, it is only me, that has the bold ideas and the clear plan that will deliver a secure future for the country,” he told Sky News following a speech in London.
But he refused to say when he would call an election, instead saying it would be “at some point in the second half of this year”.
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In a wide-ranging speech that appeared to be a soft launch of his election campaign, Mr Sunak sought to position himself as the best option to navigate a dangerous period, adding that the war in Ukraine “has taken us closer to a dangerous nuclear escalation than at any point since the Cuban missile crisis”.
The PM claimed Sir Keir Starmer could not keep the country safe because he once supported Jeremy Corbyn to be Labour leader and Sir Keir had not committed to increasing defence spending to 2.5% of GDP.
Mr Sunak said he remained “confident” his party could win the general election despite polls continuing to suggest the Tories are on course to lose.
He admitted “we haven’t got everything right” over the past 14 years his party has been in power but said Labour “have almost nothing to say” about what they would do on most issues.
“No plans for our border, no plans for our energy security, no plans for our economy either,” he said.
Mr Sunak said Sir Keir had “no principles either” and had gone from “embracing Jeremy Corbyn to Natalie Elphicke” – the Tory MP who defected to Labour – “all in the cynical pursuit of power. At any price”.
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