Does Rishi Sunak believe in Rwanda?

An election year has begun, with Rishi Sunak still struggling in the polls and continuing to face great challenges home and abroad. His first appearance of the year on Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg didn’t get off to an easy start. Kuenssberg surprised him with leaked documents she said implied he had had major doubts about the efficacy of the Rwanda returns deal, when acting as Chancellor in 2022. Sunak said he hadn’t seen the documents, but brushed off the accusations, claiming it was his job as Chancellor to ask tough questions about any proposal. He told Kuenssberg that his actions on getting returns deals with Albania and Rwanda were proof that he believed in the importance of a deterrent.

What does Starmer’s year of ‘hope and change’ look like?

While Sunak is scrutinised on the delivery of his government’s policy, his opponent continues to play a cautious game. In his first speech of 2024, Keir Starmer went big on ‘hope and change’, and described apathy as ‘the biggest challenge we face, bar none’. However, Labour continue to be reluctant to outline specific big policies, instead focusing on the failings of the government. Wilfred Frost, covering for Trevor Phillips on Sky News, pointed out that if there is apathy, and a low turnout at the upcoming election, Labour’s cautious approach might be a contributing factor. Starmer disagreed, arguing that it was the poor performance of the government that created apathy. Starmer said he wanted to fight for more housing, reducing NHS waiting lists, and halve violence against women. Frost suggested they sounded like goals rather than specific policies.

Sunak: ‘It is an appalling miscarriage of justice’

This week an ITV drama brought the Horizon IT scandal, during which more than 700 sub-postmasters were wrongly convicted of theft and fraud, back into focus. Since then 50 new potential victims have come forwards. Kuenssberg asked Sunak what the government was doing to speed up the process of compensation, which has made little progress. Sunak said it was important that the victims get ‘the justice they deserve’, and said the government had already paid out £150 million in compensation. He suggested the justice secretary was looking at further measures such as exonerating all those affected, but there were legal complexities.

Lee Castleton: ‘The victims are traumatised’

Responding to Sunak’s comments, Lee Castleton, who is a victim of the scandal, said the process to find justice had been like a war. He told Kuenssberg that although some money had been paid out, the victims had paid more than that out in lawyer’s fees. Castleton asked why it was the case that the Post Office was in charge of recompensing the victims of a scandal they were directly involved in.

Mike Pence: ‘The American people are open to new leadership’

An election also looms in the US, with polls suggesting the embattled Donald Trump could beat Joe Biden, despite Trump’s legal issues. Former Vice President Mike Pence was very critical of both frontrunners, telling Frost it was ‘fairly remarkable’ to think about the choice on offer to Americans. He suggested that the Supreme Court should allow Trump to be on the ballot, but said he hoped that the Republican Party would give the people an opportunity for new leadership.

Shadow education secretary blames ‘irresponsible parents’ for school attendance 

Finally, speaking to Kuenssberg, Bridget Phillipson outlined Labour’s plan to install mental health counsellors in every secondary school to improve attendance. Kuenssberg pointed out that Phillipson had actually used quite accusatory language, blaming irresponsible parents for their ‘relaxed attitude’ to school attendance, and saying it was harming other children’s life chances. She also reminded Phillipson of a previous interview in which she had claimed such language was unhelpful. Phillipson claimed her previous comments were in the context of a discussion about fines and penalties, and that in this case she was specifically talking about parents who take their children out of school for holidays, or when it wasn’t necessary. Phillipson said persistent absenteeism was the biggest barrier to raising standards in education.