Rishi Sunak admits ‘Stop the Boats’ mistake during time as PM
Rishi Sunak: My ‘stop the boats’ slogan wasn’t quite right
- Former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has admitted that his "Stop the Boats" slogan, a key part of his premiership, was “too stark” and “too binary”.
- Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Political Thinking With Nick Robinson podcast, Mr Sunak acknowledged that the message oversimplified the complexities of tackling migrant Channel crossings.
- Mr Sunak defended his government's efforts to reduce crossings, emphasising the strain on resources while upholding the UK's compassion.
- He also revealed that he had considered calling an early general election for some time, believing it necessary to gain a mandate for policies like the Rwanda migrant plan.
- Mr Sunak expressed support for increasing the defence budget, even suggesting cuts to welfare spending to achieve this.
