‘Economy at turning point’: Rishi Sunak seeks to reverse fortunes amid conspiracy rumors

Rishi Sunak insisted “the economy is improving” and urged Tory MPs to “stick to the plan” amid reports of a plot to oust him before a general election.

The prime minister is seeking to shift the political debate towards an improving economic outlook as he attempts to cement his leadership.

As many Conservatives grow increasingly concerned about losing seats, there are claims some MPs are considering replacing him with Commons leader Penny Mordaunt.

Speaking in Downing Street on Sunday night, Sunak launched a counterattack by vowing that 2024 “will be the year Britain bounces back”.

He faces another difficult week as his Rwanda Bill is due to return to the House of Commons and appear before the backbench 1922 Committee.

Sunak said he hoped to see “more progress” on inflation when the Office for National Statistics publishes the latest inflation data on Wednesday.

“There is a real sense now that the economy is turning a corner and all the economic indicators are pointing in the right direction.

“This year, 2024, will be the year of recovery for the UK economy.

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“Inflation has more than halved and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicts that inflation will reach the 2% target in just a few months, a full year ahead of their forecast just a few months ago.”

Mr Sunak will set out reforms to boost apprenticeships and cut red tape for small businesses at a conference in Warwickshire on Monday.

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MPs will later consider changes made by the House of Lords to its Rwanda Security (Asylum and Immigration) Bill.

The government will seek to overturn peer amendments after ten defeats in the House of Lords.

But a poll commissioned by Focaldata, the UK Future think tank, found that a majority of the public supports almost all of the reforms proposed by the House of Lords to introduce additional safeguards.

The deportation policy has also faced fresh criticism as cabinet ministers failed to guarantee that migrant flights would take off before the election and amid reports that Kigali insisted on a staggered approach to implementing the policy.

Transport Minister Mark Harper said on Sunday the government was “intended” to start flights before voters head to the polls, but declined to guarantee it.

According to The Times, the first flights are unlikely to take off before mid-May, with Kigali hoping to test the policy by pausing for two months after accepting the first batch of migrants.

Yvette Cooper, Labour’s shadow home secretary, said on Twitter: “Incredible. The government has finally admitted that the Conservatives’ flagship £500m program in Rwanda will only cover around 150 people.

“The potential cost to the UK taxpayer of this failed gimmick is close to £2 million per person.”