New year, new Sunak?

Hello there, I’m Matt Mathers and welcome to The Independent’s Inside Politics newsletter.

The holidays are well and truly over now.

You’ll have to make do with watching turkeys running around Westminster instead of eating them for dinner.

On a more serious note – happy new year. May 2023 bring all our readers many happy returns.

Surely things can’t get any worse?

Parliament returns on 9 January.

Rosina Allin-Khan, shadow mental health minister, is on Sky News at 8.05am

Tory MP Caroline Johnson on Times Radio at 8.05am

Rishi Sunak to set out his priorities for the year ahead in a speech expected around lunchtime.

After his predecessor crashed the economy, Rishi Sunak’s time in Downing Street so far has largely been about crisis management. The prime minister has made bringing down soaring inflation, tackling the small boats issue and continuing to support Ukraine some of his main priorities.

That narrow focus has brought criticism from some Tory MP who, concerned by Labour’s consistent lead in the polls, fear the Conservatives are not electorally attractive to voters with a general election just around the corner. The argument goes that Sunak, in the job just some three months, has no grand vision for the country beyond what is most pressing in his in tray.

Today the PM seeks to address those concerns with a speech, expected around lunchtime, setting out his priorities for the year ahead. The headline announcement from the speech is a pledge by Sunak to ensure all school pupils in England study some form of maths to the age of 18.

Downing Street says that the PM “recognises the practical challenges” involved with the promise and that enacting change won’t be easy. “He will commit to starting the work of introducing maths to 18 in this parliament and finishing it in the next,” No 10 says.

Bridget Phillipson, Labour’s shadow education secretary, called on Sunak to “show his working” on how greater participation in maths will be funded. He cannot deliver this reheated, empty pledge without more maths teachers, yet the government has missed their target for new maths teachers year after year,” she said.

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According to reports this morning, Sunak will also vow to take personal responsibility for fixing the growing emergency in the NHS, which has generated plenty of headlines over the past few days.

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The NHS will once again be a key battleground between the two main parties when voters next head to the polls, in January 2025 at the latest.

The health service is facing its biggest crisis in living memory, medics say, with already over-stretched services being pushed to breaking point by Covid pandemic backlogs.

Allin-Khan has been out on the airwaves this morning setting out Labour’s plan for the NHS.

The shadow mental health minister and doctor says her party has a plan to train 10,000 more nurses and midwives every year and create 5,000 more health visitors.

“Fundamentally, we have an NHS that is in crisis, and Labour has a plan to improve the situation,” she told BBC Radio 4 earlier this morning.

The opposition has also previously said it would end the non-dom tax status to train more doctors.

Sunak on his plan for maths.

“In a world where data is everywhere and statistics underpin every job, our children’s jobs will require more analytical skills than ever before. And letting our children out into the world without those skills, is letting our children down.”

Pippa Crerar, Guardian politics editor, on Sunak’s speech.

“No 10 sources suggest PM’s speech, setting out priorities for year ahead, will include more policy announcements. Surely will include something on health as it felt bit odd - despite understandable desire for positive headlines - to trail maths plan when NHS in such crisis.”

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