Rishi Sunak hints he could wait until last possible moment to call election
Rishi Sunak has insisted he can cling to power as he hinted he will delay holding a general election.
The PM said he was “fired up” and “hungry to win” as he revealed that he wants to remain in No10 until at least 2030. The Conservatives have fallen way behind Labour in the polls as voters grow fed up with their botched running of the country.
But on his visit to New Delhi where he will attend a G20 summit, Mr Sunak said he was “entirely confident” he will win the next election. And in an indication that he could hold off going to the polls for as long as possible, he said: “We’ve got plenty of time between now and the next election.”
The PM could potentially delay voters going to the polls until January 2025. “I am entirely confident that we can win the next election, you had a sense of that just a couple of months ago in Uxbridge,” he told reporters as he referred to the by-election held in Boris Johnson ’s old seat where the Tories clung on by less than 500 votes.
The PM said he could cling on during his visit to New Delhi for the G20 summit (PA)He added: “I'm not complacent, there’s lots of work to do but I’m entirely confident we can deliver for the people. “And I can tell you - certainly in Downing Street, we are fired up. I am hungry to win.”
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Mr Sunak who became PM last October declared that he wanted to serve at least a full term, which if an election is not held until 2025 would take him until 2030. “I am working to get a first full term,” he said. “I will show the British people what I am capable of in the time I have now before the election. I will be saying to them 'give me a full term and then show what I can deliver for you'."
Mr Sunak brushed off criticism of his Government, which in the past week has faced the scandal of crumbling schools and the escape from prison of terror suspect Daniel Khalife. On the problem of dodgy concrete putting children at risk, the PM said: “Our job is to act on it as swiftly as possible, minimise the disruption to children’s education, reassure parents that we’re getting through it as quickly as possible.
“We’re identifying the problem and working through it, so that in a matter of weeks we will have been able to survey practically the entire English school estate that is affected.” He praised Education Secretary Gillian Keegan saying she had “acted exactly correctly” in response to the crisis.
On the prison escape, Mr Sunak said: “My job when something like that comes along is to make sure we deal with it in the best possible way. I believe that is what we are doing. “When it comes to the prisoner release, thankfully these instances are extremely rare.
“The Justice Secretary has initiated an internal inquiry to understand the circumstances around this and the most important thing is for anyone if they have to give information to the police. Public safety is paramount and that is what everyone is working towards.”
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