The Battle for Number 10: Kay Burley puts questions to Rishi Sunak

To start with, let's talk about the economy, should we today, as the Bank of England pointed out, say that we will be in recession before the end of the year and that will last until 2024? People watch at home and I guess some people here are also facing months and months of hardship. You have been its chancellor for the past two years. Why should they trust you with the keys to

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10? In fact, because they have seen me as chancellor. over the last few years and I think it's actually okay, probably the first time people really saw me was at that first press conference when there was enormous anxiety in the country about what was going to happen to people's jobs, their livelihoods, their businesses and I don't really know who he was.

I had been chancellor a couple of weeks before, but I stepped forward at that time to act boldly and radically to design things that had never been done before in this country, like permits that ended up protecting. more than 10 million jobs saved more than a million businesses helping families get through two very difficult years and for our economy to emerge at the end of them in a much more resilient shape than anyone had anticipated at the beginning and as I walk through the country. Know that that is what I did for them, they are grateful for it and that is what I want to do as Prime Minister because right now we are facing equally big economic challenges and it is particularly thanks to your experience that I am in a good position to deal with anything. what can be done about the recession exists or exists, of course, of course, let's go back to David David's question that the first thing we have to do is not to make the situation worse, what is causing the recession, just as You heard it from the Bank of England today and I think Liz said something earlier that I'm going to correct: it's not the tax burden that's causing the recession that's just wrong it's inflation that's causing the recession, right, that's the root of the problems we have not only here but in the United States and elsewhere, so the way we are going to overcome this, first and foremost, is to control inflation.

Now we will do it and I have always supported people, as you have seen me in recent years, so I will help people get through the crisis. fall into winter like I've done before and then we'll make the right reforms to help grow the economy in the long run and I don't think corporate taxes would come up with more money to help people, of course it would, you know? how much we will have to see the size of the problem, but look, people can see 13.3 percent inflation is what is predicted, yes, that is the size of the problem and I don't want that to get worse and I don't want it to last any longer. , so what I'm not going to do is embark on a debt spree worth tens of billions of pounds, put that on the country's credit card, ask our children and grandchildren to foot the bill because that won't okay, it's not responsible and it's certainly not conservative, but you're promising tax cuts without knowing where inflation will be.

I'm the one not sitting here now promising tens of billions of pounds in unfunded tax cuts. What you've actually said is that there will be no tax cuts until inflation is under control, which is equivalent to being under control when it's on a clearly downward trajectory and we have a good line of sight that it's coming back to target, okay, but that is not so, but that is why we must be very careful. policies that will make things worse, right? And look, you know, if that took the first question, uh, it was, you know, I'm behind in this race.

I'm a little confused, so you're saying these income tax cuts might not happen. We're talking about my longer term plan, yes, of course, yes, my longer term plan, I'm sure we can accomplish it, yes, good, and that was the reason I posted that longer term plan and that longer-term plan for those who were watching was to reduce over time. income tax rates in this country because I firmly believe in rewarding hard work hard work is a value that I think is really important. I think most conservatives share that view that hard work is something that should be rewarded in the best way.

The tax system is about reducing the income tax rate and I wanted to give people an idea of ​​where I wanted to take the country and the economy and I want to build an economy where we reduce income tax rates over time . and we will do it by not asking our children to foot the bill, we will do it by being disciplined in public spending, you feel very comfortable, we know exactly what you think, which we probably don't know. is foreign affairs so much, so let me ask you about energy and food bills and how they potentially relate to foreign affairs.

How high do you think energy and food bills will have to rise before we reassess our support for Ukraine? Actually, I don't think we're going to see it like that because we can make a huge difference between now and next winter by reducing our dependence on Russian energy, so in the short term, of course, we're going to take a step forward. and I want to intervene and help people more, I announced enormous support as chancellor as prime minister. I will go further because the situation has deteriorated, but what I hope is that by next winter we will have overcome this and there will be many things we can do to help us achieve this, so I give a couple of examples.

One thing we can do is improve our energy storage because we can actually import a lot of gas in the middle of the year. It takes time, no, no. We can actually achieve better energy storage relatively quickly by mid-year, but the other thing we can do is energy efficiency. Now many of you here, many people watching us, live in homes where we can help improve insulation. Loft insulation. Insulation of cavity walls. smart temperature controls, they are relatively small scale interventions that don't take a lot of time or cost a fortune and the government has money, but if we accelerate that program we can not only reduce our energy demand, which improves our energy security, we can also save . people with up to £300 on their bills now, that's the kind of thing we should keep supporting Ukraine while we're lagging behind in our loft is that what you're saying is that we have to be lagging behind anyway for climate change reasons, because en It's good to reduce our energy demand in the long term, but what we do want to do is make sure we help people with their bills and that's a good practical example of something we can do in the Ukraine conflict.

Boris Johnson has really launched himself. As for the cause, I think everyone could agree that he is apparently considered a hero in Ukraine. That's what he tells us. He brandishes the missile launches at him. We have seen. Are you really strong enough to take on Vladimir Putin? Well, think for a moment. How are we currently? This is your hell, yes, yes, so how are we going to face Vladimir Putin? How are we really doing it? We are doing two things well. We are sending weapons and money to Ukraine, as we talked about before. I found it in other places in government spending so that we could free up that money to send to President Zielenski, but what is the other way we are weakening Russia?

We are doing it through economic sanctions. We will not send our troops to Russia. It is not diplomatic measures that are making a difference, it is economic, what are we doing? We are targeting their companies, their access to global capital markets, their gold trade, their central bank reserves, this is how we are squeezing Russia economically, who do you think put it all up? I did those things together with all my fellow finance ministers around the world working with a Treasury secretary in the United States working with European finance ministers we designed an international package of economic sanctions that would send a very strong message that we will not tolerate their aggression. the toughest set of economic sanctions the world has ever seen and it is making a difference and as Prime Minister I will go further because there is more we can do, so yes, I am tough enough and I am already implementing the necessary measures. it actually caused him the most trouble thanks ben wallace um, as i mentioned before, he said it had to be written off in defense spending.

Pretty Patel, the home secretary, allegedly said you opposed the Rwanda plan during a written discussion between departments Brandon Lewis, the former Northern Ireland secretary, accused him of putting up strong resistance to the efforts to overturn the Northern Ireland protocol. There seems to be a recurring theme there. It is not like this? You say one thing in private and then you say something else to voters. consumption, so should we believe them or should we believe? Look, when it comes to the Rwanda plan, I believe in Rwanda policy, but do I ask difficult

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when cabinet ministers come to me and say, oh, look, we'd like to do this new thing?

Which is, because my job is to make sure that yours and everyone else's watching and everyone in this audience's money is spent appropriately, that's part of my job. I wouldn't be doing my job properly if every time a cabinet minister came to me and said, oh. Please can I have x billion pounds to do this new thing? I'm not saying this right, wait, let me check that this is actually going to work. Is it worth spending taxpayers' money? Spending £120m sending 200 people to Rwanda is a good thing. value for money yeah well it's the pilot so the pilot part is expensive so now you're asking exactly the

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I was asking so if Pretty Patel or anyone else is going to say Oh now I expressed some doubts about it, they were doubts about how we are going to make politics work, I believe in politics, but it is not good enough in government to simply announce things, it is not good enough to publish a press release, which you have to to do is deliver things and I think what people saw during the pandemic as chancellor that I could achieve things.

In fact, I introduced policies that worked and made a difference, which by the way were implemented in record time and were radical, and I will bring that same sense of control, urgency and competence to everyone. these other challenges, whether it's Rwanda politics, or the delays in the National Health Service, okay, let's talk about the climate, you mentioned it, we are trying to address these issues as best we can because obviously some of these people They have not received their ballots, but others have. and what you are telling them here in the studio and at home this afternoon could make the difference as to whether or not you are the next prime minister of this country, so let's talk about the climate in case an issue arises that affects not just to our finances but of course our future are your green credentials, can I try them?

Sure, here we go, new coal mines, yes or no, are local decisions, but I don't think we should import coal from other places if we have it in Home Well, what about fracking? Where do you have the support of local communities? I am in favor of it. Good, but we've seen some major problems with fracking. Isn't that right, especially in my part of the world, in the northwest of England, where we have seen at least three earthquakes that have apparently been caused by fracking, yes, but also, as I said, the most important thing is that it must gain support from local communities, but we also have a study of, I think, three different real societies.

I think of geologists and engineers and I don't remember the third group, but it's online somewhere. All said they believe fracking is safe and that seismic activity is not out of the ordinary. They are all the scientists who came to that conclusion. I don't, but like I said, I support it, where we can bring the local community with us because if we can make it work, it's good for our energy in the long run, would flight taxes increase? Would you increase flight taxes? Not because? Not very well, because as chancellor I already made a change to taxes.

Yes, it was actually because the green airline did two things. One is that I reversed a European rule that required us to charge people twice when they flew within the UK. As for the air traffic service, I didn't think it was right and after we left the EU we could say we're not going to do that anymore if you fly through the UK because we think in the UK you should only pay tax once . but at the same time I created a new band for the longer flights, the more polluting flights, we created a new band with a higher tax level, so it was actually balanced for people who fly further with more emissions. they were going to pay more for people flying within the uk we took advantage of brexit let me ask you about onshore wind energy yes or no because I'm a bit confused about this sea thing and I'm sure and forgive me yes orno, it's okay, you've changed your mind no, I haven't, last night I was asked a question, I didn't fully understand it and I was wrong, but my position on this is the same, since it was good, how are we going to do it? getting to net zero by 2050 with innovation, yes, and the kind of future economy I want to create is one where this and we talked about it in the answer to someone's visa question if we have an economy where this is the best place. in the world so that people create invent discover new things we will get there and we will get there in a way that reduces people's bills now my business background means I know how to build that kind of economy and this is what we have to rush into This, well, it's important in net zero, yeah, there's a huge, if you don't mind, quick questions, here we're going to ask.

Do you personally support the 24 week limit for abortion uh as a personal thing yeah, I mean, these They are personal decisions, they are not government decisions. I don't think there is a need to change. I believe in a woman's right to choose. I don't think there is any reason to change the laws we have, why did he abstain in all the important votes on abortion? Probably because I wasn't in parliament on the day he didn't think I was important enough to be there. because as chancellor I travel often in 2015, apparently I was chancellor in 2015. uh no, but I mean these are not free, I mean, I completely agree with our current abortion system, I don't think it should be changed, so yeah the voting, I mean, that's my general opinion, which has always been like you just haven't been, you should have them there when the votes have taken place, would you punch the Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman, like Did Joe Biden do it?

I'm probably not a fist bump type of person, I think I'll probably just shake his hand, so I mean, yeah, I'll shake his hand. In general, I think you have to interact with people from all over the world. I don't think they are a country we have. a relationship with uh in a video here comes from 2001 you said you didn't have working class friends have you made working class friends since you left university? Yeah, I mean, I was, I think I was a student when I said we all say stupid things when we're younger, I mean, at the same time, as you know, I worked in my mom's store, I was on my bike running around delivering medicine to people or people from all walks of life. but you know, obviously, I was a kid and I said something stupid, so now you have working class friends, yeah, I mean, I don't go around asking them what they're looking for there.

I think we've gone beyond that as a country actually I assure you, yes I think people are less interested in knowing where you come from, people are interested in knowing where you're going, that's the kind of country I want build, right, thank you, yes, let me ask you the same question as the confidence that being prime minister is the most invasive exposed period in the life of any politician, whatever you want to tell us, no, I mean, look, I've had a I've been working relatively high profile for two years and I think people have seen me. in action and they've seen what I can do, they've seen and also been talked about a lot of my personal life earlier this year and that was an experience that I took, you know, that I learned a lot from and dealt with a lot.

Yes, I'm used to scrutiny. Another simple question: have you ever benefited financially from the use of tax havens? I have benefited and paid absolutely full normal taxes wherever I have lived. Did you establish that business? It's not right, so you know you weren't a co-founder in 2000 and not in the part of the Cayman Islands you're referring to. I don't have anything. What to do with that, I mean, I work with a company that has several offices around the world, but that is not my responsibility, I did not run the company, so that offshore company did not pay him in any way.

When I lived in the United States, I paid all my taxes in the United States and when I lived in the United Kingdom, I paid all my taxes in the United Kingdom as fully as anyone else. Okay, the reason I ask is that, as you know, our entire audience knows that he has had to clarify his wife's non-dom status; she had permanent residence in the United States while setting taxes on British voters, which is what a green card means; is building a pool in your home constituency while the public pool in Richmond faces closure after a 400 power surge, all of this has led to a perception problem for you, people feel like they can't walk a mile with their shoes because they are walking around in their Prada shoes, what would they do?

Tell them that you know, just so you know, for the last two weeks, I've been all over the country talking, talking to members, talking to members of the public and, as I was saying, a lot of people have come to talk to me about that press conference and license and what a difference it made in their lives, you know? I was wearing the same suit at that press conference, the same shoes I wear now, I'm the same person, how much were they worth? Yes, very skilled. I'm exactly the same person, right, I'm the same person who was there and made sure to help the country through a very difficult time and that's what I'm going to do as Prime Minister and I think the British judge people by their character and by your actions, not your bank account, which certainly seems to be the case as far as the audience here is concerned, but there are plenty of people watching at home who would disagree that that perception is reality and think that You're too rich to be Prime Minister, yes, well the reality is that one of the last things I did as Chancellor was announce significant help for people with their energy bills this last winter.

To the question we had in front of David, I think it was correct, you know? That was David's question. It was about helping the most vulnerable people who really needed help. That's what I did because look, we're all going to have a hard time and inflation impoverishes everyone and that's why I'm so worried about the policies that they will make is worse and lasts longer and that's not right, but when we need to help people this fall and winter, our attention should be focused on the people who need our help the most and in fact, you know when Liz is sitting here saying who is going to scrap the NHS tax.

Do you know who benefits the 15 highest earners? That's what that policy does. It won't help the people David asked about with the cost of living this winter. The policies I announced as chancellor are aimed at those people. because they are the people who need our help, it's going to be very difficult, it's going to be very difficult for a lot of people and as much as I want to support them to work hard and do those things well, it's just going to be impossible for some. people and we need to help them and that's what I did you can't do all that on your own um penny mordent has endorsed mrs. trust ben wallace says back distrust nadim zahawi has endorsed uh liz trust sanji javid your old boss has endorsed Mrs.

Truss, why do so many people support her instead of you? But Kay returns to the question at the beginning of each stage of the parliamentary process. I had the greatest and widest support most closely with you and they decided that They prefer that she stay with the majority of MPs in parliament and all MPs worked together in many different types around the cabinet table with you day in and day out. and they said you know what's really going to happen with the first two, a penny more than those not in the cabinet. Okay, but every round of parliamentary press was to be your capital ahead of everyone else and since it ended, more and more people have come and joined the team, so I'm actually very honored by that and I'm delighted . and in fact, as we answer a question, the support comes broadly from across the parliamentary party and I am not going to go into who will have this job and that job.

I have a contest I want to try. and win, I want to go out and talk to all of you about my ideas for the future, but I will build a team that reflects all the talent and traditions of our party, as I said, you saw a lot of that on display in this leadership. competition and as we talked about before, we are all a team, we are all a family, we will come together after this, we will serve the British people and then we will take it to Kirsten and we will win. the next elections because that is the real prize.

Final thought when you go, you know, when you look in the mirror at night, right before you go to bed, and you think that all these people who are sitting around the cabinet table with me and now they don't want to work with me , they think he is better than the other candidates, a lot of people sitting around the cabinet table also support me, right, Dominic Robb, the deputy prime minister is out there talking about that and many others, but so do I, as I said. now it's really just him right, I think we only have one person, yes, as much as we love you and we love Sky, I think they are very tolerant, only one person gives up their evening to come talk to you later, but Look, you know?

I've been, you know, it's been very difficult to accept. In fact, I think it's the perfect place to end it. Thank you very much, thank you very much, very nice.