I’ll work my socks off for YOU, vows Rishi Sunak as Starmer warns ‘last yards are hardest’ in 72-hour campaign sprint
RISHI Sunak has vowed that he will “work my socks off” for the country while Sir Keir Starmer issues a warning to voters as the campaign enters its final 72-hour sprint.
The Labour leader has this morning urged Labour supports not to be complacent and stressed that the final stretch is the hardest with just three days to go.
Speaking at a pharmaceutical warehouse in Stoke on Trent this morning, the PM issued a rallying cry to Tory voters to not hand Labour a “blank cheque”.
He said:“I love our country for what it has done for my family.
“My grandparents came here with very little and I stand here in front of you two generations later having had the enormous privilege of being both your chancellor and your prime minister.
“I will always work my socks off for you, you saw that during Covid with things like furlough. That’s who I am.”
At the first of four campaign stops today, the PM referenced Jude Bellingham’s last minute game changer goal for England and insisted he’s still got fight in him.
He told The Sun: “As I said last night, it’s not over till it’s over. I’m fighting hard for every vote.
“Actually, people have it in their hands to decide the future that they want.
And if you want lower taxes, your pension protected, and our borders secure, you’ve got to vote for it, and that means voting Conservative.”
During a speech at the warehouse this morning, he added: “A vote for the Conservatives is not just a vote to stop a supermajority but it’s also a vote to make sure that we will fight for you.
“I will fight for you. I will make sure that your voice is heard. That is what this is about and crucially I will keep cutting your taxes.
“When you go to the polls on Thursday you need to remember that this is not a by-election.
“This is a choice about who governs our country for years. I would urge you not to sleepwalk into that.
“Think about what that will mean for you and your family. If these polls are right and Labour are in power with a supermajority, you need to think about what that will mean, a Labour government unchecked, no one to hold them accountable, no one to stand up for them in Parliament.
“If you hand Labour a blank cheque you will not be able to get it back.”
ANALYSIS
By Noa Hoffman, travelling with the PM
With 72 hours until polls open Rishi Sunak is focussing on two core messages.
First, the PM is warning the public that support for Labour is dangerously high for British democracy.
A predicted onslaught of Labour MPs entering the Commons risks creating a “socialist superstate” where Sir Keir Starmer has free rein to drown households in a tidal wave of taxes.
At a pharmaceutical warehouse in Stoke on Trent – the first of four campaign stops today – the PM pushed the Starmer tax message hard.
He listed the home, car and pensions and just some of the places Sir Keir will target his tax raids.
The second message Mr Sunak is honing in on is more personal – that he genuinely cares about Britain and its people.
The PM used the new line “I’ll work my socks off for you because I care about you”.
He painted public service as a personal mission – one he and the Tories hold more genuinely than their opponents.
There’s a slight sense of begging in the second of his pitches to the public.
But with three days until polls open the Conservatives are more open to trying anything – any argument – that could turn their fortunes around.
The country has just three days before voters head to the ballot boxes – with Labour still maintaining their strong lead in the polls.
Speaking on the campaign trail this morning, Sir Keir told supporters that “the last yards are the hardest” as he urged Brits to get out and vote.
“So my track record as a leader is clear. Yes, what we’re asking now is for the opportunity to do the same for our country. And yes, we face the same challenge, which is a version of: ‘Look, the country is broken, almost nothing is working better than it was when the Tories started. Is it possible to bring around the change that we offer?’
“Yes, it is. We have that determination, that intention. And in five years’ time, we will be able to look back and say: ‘You are truly better off, your public services are working properly and the economy is working for everyone.’
“I’ll be very, very happy to be judged on that record.”
Labour frontbencher Jonathan Ashworth this morning called this week “squeaky bum time” – a reference to Sir Alex Ferguson’s description of the last few moments of a football match when the opponents could still steal a goal.
He told Radio 4: “First of all, we’ve got to win an election on Thursday. This is the period now when your co presenter who is a Man United fan would know that Alex Ferguson would describe as the squeaky bum time.
“There are still people who are making their mind up, weighing up what to do, and my message to them today is don’t switch on radio 4 on Friday morning and hear that Rishi Sunak has won five more years in power.
“The choice in this election is clear, if people want change they’ve got to go out and vote for it.”