Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledges to ‘fix’ mistakes made by UK Government

Rishi Sunak has pledged to put “economic stability and confidence” at the heart of the UK Government’s agenda in his first speech as prime minister.

The former chancellor was officially appointed to the job by King Charles III earlier on Tuesday.

Speaking as he arrived back in Downing Street, he paid tribute to his predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson.

But he added that “mistakes were made” and it was his job to “fix them”.

He also spoke about the need to rebuild trust in the government and Conservatives.

He said: “Some mistakes were made – not born of ill-will or bad intentions, quite the opposite in fact – but mistakes nonetheless. I have been elected as leader of my party and your prime minister in part to fix them. And that work begins immediately.

“I will place economic stability and confidence at the heart of this government’s agenda. This will mean difficult decisions to come. But you saw me during Covid doing everything I could to protect people and businesses with schemes like furlough.

“There are always limits, more so now than ever, but I promise you this: I will bring that same compassion to the challenges we face today.

“The government I lead will not leave the next generation, your children and grandchildren, with a debt to settle that we were too weak to pay ourselves. I will unite our country not with words, but with action. I will work day in and day out to deliver for you.

“This government will have integrity, professionalism, and accountability at every level. Trust is earned and I will earn yours.”

Sunak, who at 42 is the youngest prime minister of the modern era and the first British Asian to take the top job, became leader of the Conservative party yesterday after securing the backing of over half of his colleagues.

He was the sole nominee for the position.

Liz Truss, who announced her resignation last Thursday after just 45 days in office, said earlier it had been a “huge honour” to be Prime Minister.

In her final speech before heading to Buckingham Palace, she urged the government to “be bold” in tackling challenges ahead.

She called for lower taxes and a focus on economic growth.