Rishi Sunak has been accused of living “in a parallel universe” for refusing to admit that the NHS and economy are in a terrible state.
The prime minister last week insisted that “it’s going to be OK” despite inflation remaining high and interest rates continuing to rise.
On the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show this morning, Sunak also repeatedly refused to concede that government is failing on the NHS, despite waiting list being at a record high.
Kuenssberg told him: “This week you’ve told people that it’s going to be OK.
“Do you understand why people looking at their mortgage bills, looking at their shopping bill, worrying about keeping a roof over their heads are going to listen to you and think ‘it’s not going to be OK for me’.
“Doesn’t it sound to many people, or it might it risk sounding, like you’re in some kind of parallel universe where the NHS is getting better and the economy is going to be OK? It’s not the experience of millions of people right now.”
The PM replied: “I’ve never said that it’s not challenging, I’ve never said that this isn’t going to be a difficult time to get through.
“But what I want to give people the reassurance and confidence is that we’ve got a plan, the plan will work and we’ll get through this. That’s exactly what people should be hearing from their prime minister and their government.”
He added: “I get that this is challenging and that’s going to have an impact on me in the short term, but we’ve got to stick to the course and I want people to be re-assured that we’ve got to hold our nerve, stick to the plan and we will get through this.”