Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said he is "confident" he will hold on to his North Yorkshire seat as an MP at the upcoming general election during a campaign launch in the North East today.
Mr Sunak, who has served as Richmond's MP from 2015, expressed his confidence leading up to polling day on July 4 as latest polling gives Labour a 20 per cent lead over the Tories.
Due to boundary changes, the PM's former seat has been re-named to Richmond and Northallerton - for which he hope's he will be elected for a third term in a matter of weeks.
Speaking today (June 1) at the Conservative's battle bus launch at Redcar Racecourse, Mr Sunak emphasised his faith in not just in his own seat but others across the North East.
He said: “I’m confident – and we are confident across all of our seats here in the Tees Valley because everyone is delivering.
“They are delivering for their residents and making a real difference in their communities. People can see at this election there is a choice about the future.
“We have made an enormous amount of progress over the past few years with the economy, the plan is working, inflation is down, the economy is growing and wages are rising.
“People want to build on that progress, and they know if you want to move forward you need to have a clear plan with bold ideas – and that’s how you deliver a secure future.
“The choice in this election is clear.”
During his speech to supporters and press this morning, PM Rishi Sunak who was joined by fellow local conservatives Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen, Jill Mortimer, Matt Vickers and Jacob Young.
Mr Sunak greeted a flock of supporters who cheered him on as he walked out on to the racecourse for the speech, which touched upon his work as Prime Minister and his plea to voters.
He said: “The last few years have been tough. You know that I know that. COVID, the war and Ukraine, but I hope you also know that during these tough times, I had your back.
“Whether it was with the furlough scheme and support for energy bills. Together as a country, we are now through those tough times and look at what’s happening.
“Inflation down from 11% to 2%, the economy growing faster than France, Germany, and America, energy bills falling, wages rising and that shows that our plan is working.”
The PM then went on to say that the world is a more ‘dangerous’ place and discussed “bold” action in the form of the Rwanda scheme - despite the fact that he has previously admitted that no flights will take off before the election.
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“Keir Starmer and the Labour Party want you to believe this election is over before it has even started”, Mr Sunak continued.
“(They want you to believe) the result is a forgotten conclusion but you know what? I’m going to work my socks off every day on this campaign talk to as many people as I can.
“I think the public don’t like to be taken for granted... we are putting bold ideas on the table. We have heard nothing new from the Labour Party - not a single new idea about what they would do for the future.”
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