Rishi Sunak: On the brink of nuclear danger and defending British values
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that we are closer to nuclear escalation than at any moment since the Cuban Missile Crisis. He believes that "more will change in the next five years than in the last 30 years." In his speech, Sunak also referred to Putin's "recklessness". He also announced that the UK is ready to denounce the European Convention on Human Rights, "if necessary".
13 May 2024 18:01
In a speech delivered at the Policy Exchange think tank, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that this year's House of Commons elections will be a choice between the future and the past, and argued that his Conservative Party alone has the vision and the ability to meet the upcoming challenges.
Sunak said he feels a "deep sense of urgency, because in the next five years more will change than in the last 30 years".
"Over the next few years, from our democracy to our society to our economy to the hardest questions of war and peace, almost every aspect of our lives is going to change," he said.
Putin's recklessness and nuclear escalation
Sunak singled out Russia, Iran, North Korea, and China, as countries aiming to "undermine" British values, and pointing to Vladimir Putin, said that "the recklessness of the Russian president has brought us closer to a dangerous nuclear escalation more than ever since the Cuban Missile Crisis" (in 1962).
- These are not distant problems - emphasized Sunak, highlighting recent cyber attacks by Chinese hackers targeted at British parliamentarians and poisonings carried out by Russia on British soil.
UK to denounce the European Convention on Human Rights? "If necessary"
Sunak said that prioritizing national security is key to securing the country's future and suggested he is willing to denounce the European Convention on Human Rights, if necessary.
Sunak strikes at political opponents
He admitted that in 14 years of Conservative Party rule "not everything worked out", but argued that the opposition Labour Party "has almost nothing to say" on what it would do in most cases if it came to power. There are no plans to stop illegal immigration, energy security, or economic plans.
House of Commons elections will most likely be held in the second half of this year. The Conservative Party is trailing the Labour Party by an average of just over 20 percentage points in the polls, although in individual polls, this gap reaches even 30 points.
