What did Rishi Sunak say in speech today? PM claims 'next few years will be most dangerous' in UK's history

Rishi Sunak has given a statement speech saying that “the next few years will be some of the most dangerous” the UK has ever known.

The Prime Minister is hoping to move the focus back to defence and foreign affairs ahead of the general election later this year. In a week in which the eyes of the globe is on wars in Ukraine and Gaza, Sunak explained that our country is facing new threats as a result of an increasingly volatile world.

He said over the coming years “almost every aspect of our lives is going to change”, and claimed he has the “bold ideas that can change our society for the better”. Labour’s Pat McFadden retorted: “Nothing the Prime Minister says will change the fact that over the past fourteen years the Conservatives have brought costly chaos to the country, with this being the only Parliament in living memory where people’s standard of living will be lower at the end of it than the beginning.”

What did Rishi Sunak say in his speech today?

At the Policy Exchange think tank in central London, Sunak started by saying the general election later this year won’t just be “Conservative vs Labour or Sunak vs Starmer ... it will be a choice of the future and the past”. He said his party has “bold ideas that can change our society for the better, and restore people’s confidence and pride in our country”.

“I feel a profound sense of urgency because more will change in the next five years than in the last 30,” Sunak claimed. “I’m convinced that the next few years will be some of the most dangerous yet most transformational our country has ever known.”

He explained: “The dangers that threaten our country are real, they are increasing in number. This axis of authoritarian states like Russia, Iran, North Korea and China is working together to undermine us and our values.

“War has returned to Europe with our NATO allies warning that if Putin succeeds in Ukraine they might be next. War rages too in the Middle East, Israel defends itself not only against the terrorists of Hamas but a barrage of missiles fired for the first time directly from Iran.” He said we are closer to nuclear war than at any point since the Cuban missile crisis.

Sunak his out at extremists in UK society, transgender activists and “cancel culture”. He also lambasted the SNP for “trying to tear our United Kingdom apart”. But he said the biggest danger is people’s “financial insecurity”.

The Prime Minister got stuck into his favourite subject of AI. He said: “The paradox of our age is that for all the profound dangers that we face, right now we also hold in our hands an opportunity for human progress that could surpass the industrial revolution in speed and breadth.

“Technologies like AI will do for the 21st century what the steam engine and electricity did for the 19th.” He said that AI would give Britons more freedom.

The PM said that Britain’s record as a trading, innovative and entrepreneurial nation meant that “while this is one of the most dangerous periods we’ve ever known, it will also be one of the most transformational and if we make the right choices, if we have a bold enough vision, then we should have confidence, pride and optimism that Britain’s future is secure”.

In a wide-ranging speech, Sunak discussed the UK’s maritime and trading past, and talked about the spread of the Premier League around the globe. He even mentioned the sports brand Castore which is now used by “Red Bull Formula One and Bayer Leverkusen”.

The Prime Minister said that “our country stands at a crossroads”. “Over the next few years, from our democracy to our economy to our society – to the hardest questions of war and peace – almost every aspect of our lives is going to change,” he claimed.

“How we act in the face of these changes – not only to keep people safe and secure but to realise the opportunities too – will determine whether or not Britain will succeed in the years to come.” He said Labour “have no ideas”.

Speaking about Keir Starmer, he said: “What they did have they’ve U-turned on. They have just one thing: a calculation that they can make you feel so bad about your country, that you won’t have the energy to ask what they might do with the incredible power that they seek to yield.”

Sunak reiterated his mantra that “the plan is working, we must not go back to square one”. “At heart, we’re a nation of optimists,” he added. “We’re not blind to the challenges or threats we face. We just have an innate belief that whatever they are, we can overcome them as we have done so many times in our history. And create a more secure future for you and your family.”

The Prime Minister hit out at his predecessor Liz Truss: “When I stood for the leadership of my party and my opponent’s policies imperilled our financial strength, I was sooner prepared to lose than abandon what I believe so deeply is right for our country.”

And he claimed his new replacement for A-levels, the Advanced British Standard, would create a “world class education system”. He said by learning maths to 18, every child would be prepared for the modern world. He claimed that automatic facial recognition systems will revolutionise policing.

What has Labour said?

Speaking before the speech, Labour’s national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden commented: “Nothing the Prime Minister says will change the fact that over the past 14 years the Conservatives have brought costly chaos to the country, with this being the only Parliament in living memory where people’s standard of living will be lower at the end of it than the beginning.

“The Tories crashed the economy by using the country for a giant and reckless economic experiment, for which the British people are still paying the price. Even as the Prime Minister speaks, others in his party are positioning themselves to replace him.

“The only way to stop the chaos, turn the page and start to renew is with a change of government. The Conservatives can’t fix the country’s problems because they are the problem. Another five years of them would not change anything for the better.”

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.