Sunak marks 100 days as UK prime minister as problems mount

Feb 2, 2023, 12:23 AM | Updated: 5:37 am
FILE - New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak waves after arriving at Downing Street in London, Tue...

FILE - New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak waves after arriving at Downing Street in London, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, after returning from Buckingham Palace where he was formally appointed to the post by Britain's King Charles III. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

(AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

London (AP) — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has angry unions to the left of him, anxious Conservative Party lawmakers to the right and, in the middle, millions of voters he must win over to avert electoral defeat.

It’s a daunting situation for Sunak, who on Thursday marks 100 days in office, more than twice the number of his ill-fated predecessor, Liz Truss. Installed as Conservative leader after Truss’ plan for huge tax cuts sparked panic, the 42-year-old Sunak calmed financial markets and averted economic meltdown after he assumed the post of prime minister on Oct. 25.

Next, Britain’s youngest leader for two centuries — and its first prime minister of South Asian heritage — has promised to tame soaring inflation, get the sluggish economy growing, ease pressure on the overburdened health care system and “restore the integrity back into politics” after years of scandals under former Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Easier said than done.

“The things that happened before I was prime minister, I can’t do anything about,” Sunak told a group of health workers this week. “What I think you can hold me to account for is how I deal with the things that arise on my watch.”

Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government think tank, said Sunak had succeeded in overcoming the impression that the U.K. “had a completely lunatic government.”

“You would chalk that up as the first thing that he had on his to-do list,” she said. “Otherwise, it’s slightly hard to see concrete achievements.”

Sunak is a former U.K. Treasury chief, and his top priority has been the country’s economic malaise. Gross domestic product remains smaller than it was before the coronavirus pandemic, and the International Monetary Fund forecast this week that the U.K. will be the only major economy to contract this year, shrinking by 0.6%.

Sunak blames global forces — disruption from the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Critics say the elephant in the room is Brexit, which has led to a sharp reduction in trade between the U.K. and the European Union.

Sunak, a longtime advocate of Britain’s departure from the bloc, insisted Wednesday that the cost-of-living crisis had “nothing to do with Brexit.”

Whatever the causes, Sunak has little economic room to maneuver. Annual inflation hit a four-decade high of 11.1% in October and remained at a painful 10.5% in December. The U.K. is in the midst of its biggest wave of strikes in decades as nurses, paramedics, teachers, border agents and other workers seek pay increases to offset the soaring cost of living and the stresses of holding a job in an increasingly threadbare public sector.

Meanwhile, a faction inside the Conservative Party is pushing for immediate tax cuts to encourage growth, despite the damage done by “Trussonomics” just months ago.

“We need growth or our debts will get bigger,” lawmaker Iain Duncan Smith, a former Conservative leader, said this week. “Targeted tax reductions will help achieve that.”

Sunak is resisting both labor unions and tax-cutting Tories. He argues that double-digit public sector pay raises would drive inflation even higher and that “the best tax cut right now is a cut in inflation.”

Economists say U.K. inflation will likely fall during 2023, allowing Sunak to meet one of his key pledges. Other goals are likely to be harder to achieve.

He is seeking to improve relations with the 27-member EU, and both sides have made progress toward resolving a dispute over Northern Ireland trade rules that has burdened businesses and shuttered the regional government in Belfast.

But any agreement will anger Conservative euroskeptics, who are likely to see rapprochement with Brussels as a betrayal of Brexit. A compromise also faces opposition from Northern Ireland’s British unionists, who say post-Brexit customs checks undermine Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom.

Sunak also has struggled to rid the Conservative Party of its reputation for scandal and sleaze. A member of his Cabinet, Gavin Williamson, quit in November over bullying claims. On Sunday, Sunak fired party chair Nadhim Zahawi for failing to come clean about a multimillion-dollar tax dispute. Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab is being investigated over allegations he bullied civil servants, which he denies.

The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, alleged Wednesday that Sunak was “too weak” to tackle bad behavior.

U.K. voters haven’t yet had their say on Sunak, who was chosen as party leader by the 357 Conservative members of Parliament. The government doesn’t have to call a national election until late 2024, so Sunak may have time on his side.

Or, he may not. The Conservatives are trailing 20 or more points behind Labour in opinion polls, and poor results in May’s local elections could spur calls for another change of leader.

Some Conservatives hanker for the return of Johnson, whose final words to Parliament as prime minister — “Hasta la vista, baby” — hinted at a comeback.

Some analysts say it may be too late for any Conservative leader to avoid defeat. An Ipsos poll released this week, considered accurate to within 4 percentage points, found 66% of respondents wanted a change of governing party. Only 10% thought the Conservatives had done a good job.

Steven Fielding, emeritus professor of politics at the University of Nottingham, likened the mood to the final years of Prime Minister John Major’s government, wiped away by Tony Blair’s Labour election landslide in 1997 that ended 18 years of Conservative rule.

“People are just waiting for them to go,” Fielding said. “And the longer they are there, the more irritated (voters) are with them.”

He said Sunak “is trying his best. But people aren’t listening.”

___

Follow AP’s coverage of U.K. politics at https://apnews.com/hub/united-kingdom-government

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


              FILE - Rishi Sunak, top centre, waves after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest at the Conservative party Headquarters in London, Monday, Oct. 24, 2022. Rishi Sunak will become the next Prime Minister after winning the Conservative Party leadership contest. (AP Photo/David Cliff, File)
            
              FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt visit Accrington Market Hall, Jan. 19, 2023 in Accrington, England. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak marks 100 days as U.K. prime minister on Thursday, Feb. 2 – more than twice the number achieved up by his ill-fated predecessor, Liz Truss. But the leader who calmed financial markets after Truss' disastrous economic plans now faces a host of challenges, from double-digit inflation and a wave of strikes to ethics scandals in the governing Conservative Party.  (Christopher Furlong/Pool Photo via AP, file)
            
              FILE - Rail workers hold up a sign with pictures of a television puppet character Roland Rat, left, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a strike outside Euston station in London, Feb. 1, 2023. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak marks 100 days as U.K. prime minister on Thursday, Feb. 2 – more than twice the number achieved up by his ill-fated predecessor, Liz Truss. But the leader who calmed financial markets after Truss' disastrous economic plans now faces a host of challenges, from double-digit inflation and a wave of strikes to ethics scandals in the governing Conservative Party. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, file)
            
              FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during his first major domestic speech of 2023 at Plexal, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London, Jan. 4, 2023. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool photo via AP, file)
            
              FILE - Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty look at a Christmas tree at Downing Street in London, Nov. 30, 2022. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak marks 100 days as U.K. prime minister on Thursday, Feb. 2 – more than twice the number achieved up by his ill-fated predecessor, Liz Truss. But the leader who calmed financial markets after Truss' disastrous economic plans now faces a host of challenges, from double-digit inflation and a wave of strikes to ethics scandals in the governing Conservative Party. (Toby Melville/Pool via AP, file)
            
              FILE - In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak observe destroyed Russian military vehicles installed in downtown Kyiv, Nov. 19, 2022. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak marks 100 days as U.K. prime minister on Thursday, Feb. 2 – more than twice the number achieved up by his ill-fated predecessor, Liz Truss. But the leader who calmed financial markets after Truss' disastrous economic plans now faces a host of challenges, from double-digit inflation and a wave of strikes to ethics scandals in the governing Conservative Party. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP, file)
            
              FILE - British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak attends a working session on food and energy security at the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Nov. 15, 2022. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak marks 100 days as U.K. prime minister on Thursday, Feb. 2 – more than twice the number achieved up by his ill-fated predecessor, Liz Truss. But the leader who calmed financial markets after Truss' disastrous economic plans now faces a host of challenges, from double-digit inflation and a wave of strikes to ethics scandals in the governing Conservative Party. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP, file)
            
              FILE - King Charles III welcomes Rishi Sunak during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London, where he invited the newly elected leader of the Conservative Party to become Prime Minister and form a new government, Oct. 25, 2022. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak marks 100 days as U.K. prime minister on Thursday, Feb. 2 – more than twice the number achieved up by his ill-fated predecessor, Liz Truss. But the leader who calmed financial markets after Truss' disastrous economic plans now faces a host of challenges, from double-digit inflation and a wave of strikes to ethics scandals in the governing Conservative Party.  (Aaron Chown/Pool photo via AP, file)
            
              FILE - New British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak waves after arriving at Downing Street in London, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022, after returning from Buckingham Palace where he was formally appointed to the post by Britain's King Charles III. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

AP

Haitian migrant Gerson Solay, 28, carries his daughter, Bianca, as he and his family cross into Can...
Associated Press

US, Canada to end loophole that allows asylum-seekers to move between countries

President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday announced a plan to close a loophole to an immigration agreement.
1 day ago
Expert skateboarder Di'Orr Greenwood, an artist born and raised in the Navajo Nation in Arizona and...
Associated Press

Indigenous skateboard art featured on new stamps unveiled at Phoenix skate park

The Postal Service unveiled the “Art of the Skateboard" stamps at a Phoenix skate park, featuring designs from Indigenous artists.
1 day ago
(Facebook Photo/City of San Luis, Arizona)...
Associated Press

San Luis authorities receive complaints about 911 calls going across border

Authorities in San Luis say they are receiving more complaints about 911 calls mistakenly going across the border.
7 days ago
(Pexels Photo)...
Associated Press

Daylight saving time begins in most of US this weekend

No time change is observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and the Northern Marianas.
15 days ago
Mexican army soldiers prepare a search mission for four U.S. citizens kidnapped by gunmen in Matamo...
Associated Press

How the 4 abducted Americans in Mexico were located

The anonymous tip that led Mexican authorities to a remote shack where four abducted Americans were held described armed men and blindfolds.
15 days ago
Tom Brundy points to a newly built irrigation canal on one of the fields at his farm Tuesday, Feb. ...
Associated Press

Southwest farmers reluctant to idle farmland to save water

There is a growing sense that fallowing will have to be part of the solution to the increasingly desperate drought in the West.
22 days ago

Sponsored Articles

...
Day & Night Air Conditioning, Heating and Plumbing

Company looking for oldest air conditioner and wants to reward homeowner with new one

Does your air conditioner make weird noises or a burning smell when it starts? If so, you may be due for an AC unit replacement.
...
Quantum Fiber

How high-speed fiber internet edges out cable for everyday use

In a world where technology drives so much of our daily lives, a lack of high-speed internet can be a major issue.
(Photo via MLB's Arizona Fall League / Twitter)...
Arizona Fall League

Top prospects to watch at this year’s Arizona Fall League

One of the most exciting elements of the MLB offseason is the Arizona Fall League, which began its 30th season Monday.
Sunak marks 100 days as UK prime minister as problems mount