Rishi Sunak says he is proud of disastrous election campaign

Rishi Sunak said he is “proud” of his disastrous election campaign – and claimed he would win Thursday’s general election.

O Prime Minister has been criticized in recent weeks for a series of calamities that included announcing a rain-soaked voting day, leaving D-Day celebrations early and one gambling scandal.

But in a decisive interview, just days before the vote, Sunak told BBCSunday with Laura Kuenssberg show “this campaign is something I’m very proud of”, as he tried to highlight Workthe plans.

He also said he believes he will win the elections. Asked if he thought he would still be prime minister on Friday, he said: “Yes. I’m fighting hard and I think people are waking up to the real danger of what a Labor government means.”

The Conservative leader of the Leave campaign also admitted that Brexit it has been bad for many British companies.

He was confronted with comments from his ministerial colleague Kevin Hollinrake that there was “no doubt” that exports to the EU had been hampered by the UK’s exit.

Mr Hollinrake said: “There is no doubt that for some companies it is more difficult to deal with the European Union. There is no doubt that this is the case.”

He started to choose companies in the food and beverage sector, especially small and medium-sized companies.

Asked about his remarks, the Prime Minister said: “It is clear that when we leave the Single Market and the Customs Union that will change our trading relationships.”

He added: “But we have the deepest bilateral free trade agreement with the European continent that any nation has anywhere in the world.”

He also stated that the UK is a “better place to live” now than it was when the Conservatives took office in 2010, although he pointed to the pandemic and the war in Ukraine when confessing that “the last few years have been difficult for everyone”. .

But he was forced to look at a screen where viewers’ comments were projected. One of them, called Sheila, told the PM: “Our biggest concern is not about taxes, it’s about the basics.”

A sometimes angry prime minister also got into a row with the BBC presenter, who at one point told him: “That’s not what I said, prime minister.”

He also stated that there was a “clear difference” between how he handled the racist dispute surrounding conservative donor Frank Hester and how Nigel Farage responded to racist comments made about the PM by a Reform UK canvasser.

On the programme, he was shown a message from a viewer who expressed concern that Sunak’s stance on racism was not one of zero tolerance and pointed to the Hester dispute.

The donor, from whom the party continued to accept donations, the Labor MP was quoted as saying Diane Abbott “should be shot” and that she made him “want to hate all black women.”

Sunak said: “I think it is reasonable when someone is genuinely sorry for what happened, they accept that what they did was wrong and then that apology is accepted.”

He added: “The difference here is… Nigel Farage has just described these comments as ‘inappropriate’.

“They are not inappropriate. They were vile, racist and wrong, but he just said they were inappropriate.

“The person who created them just apologized to the Reform Party for the impact it had on them. It’s a very clear difference. There is no contrition, remorse or acceptance of what happened in this case.”

Previously, Mr Sunak stated Keir Starmer could inflict “irreversible damage” on the UK within 100 days of entering Downng Street.

The PM said the Labor Party is “untrustworthy” and predicted a plan to impose VAT on private schools would cause “chaos” for families.

Meanwhile, the Labor Party said Sir Keir’s first steps would be to restore economic stability and reduce NHS waiting lists as “the work of change begins”, while the party leader said his party offered voters hope for a better future.

In the Prime Minister’s interview, Jonathan Ashworth, the Labor Party’s shadow general treasurer, said: “It is unbearable to see Rishi Sunak just gloss over the concerns of ordinary workers.

“Rishi Sunak is unapologetic about his record: prices have risen in shops, NHS waiting lists have soared and mortgages have soared. He simply doesn’t understand what the Conservatives have inflicted on voters over the past 14 years.

“Britain simply cannot afford another five years of Tories. His absurd, unfunded manifesto risks racking up a further £4,800 in family mortgages.