Rishi Sunak insisted he is the only would-be Prime Minister that’s actually got a plan for after July 4 as he unveiled the Tory battle bus in Redcar on Saturday.
The incumbent PM said Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party was ‘saying a lot’ without having a clear plan – and claimed his rivals were set to implement £2,000 of tax rises for working families should they be elected into government.
Mr Sunak shocked even Tories within his circle when he called a general election in just over a month’s time – far earlier than expected. But as he unveiled the party’s bright blue campaign coach in Yorkshire he insisted he was ready to fight.
He said the Tories are ‘the ones taking bold action, getting the planes off to Rwanda’, despite confirming no deportation flights are due to take off before the election – and promised £20million for 30 towns as part of his party’s ‘levelling-up’ agenda.
He also attacked Sir Keir Starmer – who unveiled Labour’s own people mover earlier this morning – over the Diane Abbott row, after the Labour leader gave the veteran left-winger the green light to stand for the party as a candidate.
Rishi Sunak said he is the only party leader that ‘actually has a plan’ as he unveiled the Tory battle bus in Redcar, Yorkshire
The incumbent PM met supporters including local councillor Jack Symon and his son George
Mr Sunak claimed Sir Keir Starmer ‘doesn’t stick by anything he says’ and claimed Labour would tax working families £2,000
Rishi Sunak was joined by Redcar and Cleveland Tory MP Jacob Young to launch the Conservative battle bus
Meanwhile, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Rayner launched their battle bus 250 miles away in Uxbridge
The Tory leader said: ‘Just see what’s happened over this Diane Abbott situation. And it confirms what we know about him: it’s that he doesn’t stick by anything he says, just constantly changes his mind.
‘And it’s clear that Angela Rayner is in charge of the Labour Party and not him.’
Mr Sunak attacked Labour’s proposals for getting people back to work, saying he is the only one ‘that’s actually got a plan’.
He told broadcasters: ‘They might say a lot of things but the question is, ‘what are they actually going to do when it comes to people’s standard of living?”
He went on to claim that Labour has ‘£2,000 worth of tax rises coming for every working family’ and that ‘they’re not going to help anyone build any wealth or have security in retirement’.
‘When it comes to getting people back to work, I set out a few weeks ago the most comprehensive set of reforms to our welfare system in an incredibly long time to get people off welfare and into work.
‘And you know what, the Labour Party criticised me for those plans, didn’t support any of those plans.’
Sir Keir, however, took a pop at the recent flight of Tories from their party to Labour -turning the old joke about buses on its head to say they were ‘like Tory defections’.
He also brought up Boris Johnson’s attempts to hide in a fridge after he was ambushed by a Good Morning Britain reporter on the campaign trail in 2019.
The Labour leader said: ‘All week she’s (Angela Rayner) been showing me photographs of her bus and now I’ve come to see this fantastic bus.
‘It’s rather like Tory defectors. You wait for ages and then three come along in a row.
‘But this one, Ange, I’m reliably told has got a fridge in the back of it. So check that Boris Johnson isn’t in there. He used to be around these parts.’
The 18.5 tonne Yutong bus was unveiled in Uxbridge, west London on Saturday morning – and is appropriately Ulez compliant.
Mr Sunak said he would not apologise for supporting small towns as he said 30 of them would get £20m in funding if the Tories are returned to government
Mr Sunak was surrounded by placards reading ‘clear plan, bold action, secure future’ as he made a stump speech in Redcar
Angela Rayner – who is no longer the subject of a police probe into her tax affairs – poses with supporters during the campaign launch
The Labour battle bus is Ulez-compliant – and is emblazoned with the word ‘change’ no less than 15 times
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey was first to launch a campaign battle bus for this election – unveiling a coach nicknamed ‘Yellow Hammer 1’ last Sunday
Mr Sunak also faced questions about his plan to invest in 30 towns as part of his party’s ‘levelling-up’ agenda, with broadcasters asking whether the Prime Minister was trying to ‘buy votes’.
Of the towns selected, 16 had Conservative MPs until Parliament was dissolved. Eight had Labour MPs, four in Scotland had SNP representatives, and the two in Northern Ireland were represented in the Commons by Sinn Fein.
Mr Sunak replied: ‘These 30 towns come on top of the 70 towns that have been announced – that’s 100 towns across our country that are going to receive £20 million each.
‘Crucially, it will be local people in all those areas that are in charge of how to spend that money, to make sure it’s spent and invested on their priorities – an example of us levelling up everywhere, backing local people and their priorities, and giving them the long-term funding and assurance to do so.’
Mr Sunak claimed the methodology used to select the towns – including Tamworth, Bognor Regis, Flint, Perth and Newry – had been used ‘multiple times before’ based on ‘levelling-up needs, looking at economic opportunity, skills, health and life expectancy’
He claimed towns were ‘neglected’ under a previous Labour government and added: ‘I’m not going to make any apology for supporting towns.’
The Tory battle bus is emblazoned with a dark blue stylised Union flag and the slogan ‘clear plan, bold action, secure future’.
Ahead of his arrival for a stump speech, speakers blared songs by American bands including Mr Brightside by the Killers, and Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People.
But the PM admitted there was one American singer his children would probably not describe him as being a fan of – cultural juggernaut Taylor Swift.
He said: ‘My kids would not probably describe me as a Swiftie. I think they would be not OK with that description.
‘Their level of fandom is considerably more than mine and I’m not sure I pass the threshold in their eyes.’
He declined to say which Taylor Swift song ‘best describes (his) current position in the polls’, when asked by The Sunday Times.
What gets your vote? The Tory battle bus (top, in Redcar) – and Labour’s red coach (bottom, Uxbridge)
The Prime Minister replied: ‘My encyclopaedic knowledge of Taylor Swift is probably not sufficient to deal with that, but what I can tell you is that the only poll that I’m focused on is the one on July 4.
‘Has she got a song about July 4? I don’t know, I’ll have to go and check the canon.’
Elsewhere today, the Liberal Democrats have said they would make 10 Premier League football games available to watch on free-to-air TV.
Party leader Sir Ed Davey said he wanted to fight back against ‘money-grabbing’ sports franchises, adding: ‘We need to tear down the paywall and give Premier League football back to the country.
‘The next generation of fans and players are unable to watch the likes of Foden, Saka and Palmer. That is a tragedy for the sport.
‘The Conservative government has completely failed football fans, from breaking their promise to create a football regulator, to allowing greedy broadcasters to hide Premier League football away from millions.’
In Scotland first minister John Swinney is in the country’s Tory heartlands of the north-east urging locals to vote the Conservatives out.
