Rishi Sunak will rebrand himself as radical reformer in speech and will declare ‘Westminster is a broken system’
PRIME Minister Rishi Sunak will today take aim at “30 years of vested interests” which he claims have held back Britain.
In his sights are big business, activist lawyers, lobbyists, quangos and any regulators which resist “fundamental” changes to our “broken politics”.
The PM will use his set piece address on the fourth and final day of the Tory party conference to try to paint himself — not Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer — as the one to bring about radical reform.
Eleven months after seizing the keys to No 10, Mr Sunak will seek to launch a new phase of his leadership in a high stakes attempt to rebrand.
On the back of his net zero reforms, key policies including scrapping the Manchester leg of HS2 and a major crackdown on smoking are also said to be in the mix.
Mr Sunak will tell his party that “there is the undeniable sense that politics just doesn’t work the way it should”.
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And he will diagnose voters’ fears as the sense that “Westminster is a broken system”.
He will say: “It isn’t anger, it is an exhaustion with politics. In particular, politicians saying things, and then nothing ever changing.”
Mr Sunak will add: “And you know what — people are right. Politics doesn’t work the way it should.
“We’ve had thirty years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one.
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“Thirty years of vested interests standing in the way of change.”
Mr Sunak is planning to speak to his party — and the wider country — for around 40 minutes.
He will say: “Our political system is too focused on short term advantage, not long-term success.
“Politicians spend more time campaigning for change than actually delivering it.”
And he will insist that the Tory mission “is to fundamentally change our country”.
Today the Prime Minister appeared to rule out speculation he could go to the country next spring — as he insisted voters did not yet want an election.
Mr Sunak told Sky News: “What people want is politicians making a difference.”
One senior party figure reflected: “Time is on our side.”