Mumsnet users put their questions to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak

WhitegreeNcandle: For all the bashing politicians get I think most of you are in it for the right reasons but it must be an incredibly stressful time for you and your family. How do you cope with the stress on the family?

RS: Thank you. I'm very conscious that they have put up with a lot, but they could not be more supportive, and I could not do it without them. My girls are at an age where they don’t care too much about what I do, which is lovely, and allows me to switch off when I’m with them. My wife has incredible strength. My life has been shaped by being surrounded by very strong women, and I’m grateful for Akshata’s resilience and strength most of all.

As for my parents and wider family, they share the huge gratitude I feel towards our country. My grandparents came to Britain with next to nothing, and two generations later I’m sitting here as your Prime Minister. That's the mark of an exceptional country. So, my family know why I want to do this job and give back, and they support me in doing so. 

AlwaysFreezing: So, you don't drive a normal car (had to borrow the petrol station workers). You didn't know how to use your debit card (same day, smashing it into the covd screen, vaguely near the machine). You don't know any working class people. You're richer than the King. Your constituents had their public swimming pool closed (austerity) whilst you had your own pool installed at home. How can you relate to me or me to you? And how would you square these things with the idea that you know what's best for the country when the vast majority of the population don't earn enough a month to afford even one of your suits?

RS: I haven't lived your life, and you're right that I can't know your personal challenges, but I would hope that you can see from my actions and my record that I really do care – care about you and care about everyone in our country. Whether through the furlough scheme or the energy support scheme, for example, at every moment the people of our country have faced frightening prospects, I have stepped in to protect them and their livelihoods. Now I'm not pretending that we've got everything right, but every day I strive to help you and people like you because I care.

I’d add that part of the reason I'm fighting so hard in this election is that I don’t want you to face tax rises of £2,094 under Labour – after a difficult few years, I just don’t think that’s fair. 

SlowlyForward: Why do you think it is reasonable for so much of the world's wealth to be held by such a tiny number of people? Do you worry that we may be heading for a rerun of the French Revolution if redistributive taxation is not imposed globally in a collaboration between all governments?

RS: Look, I believe in wealth creation. My vision for the country is one where hard work is rewarded and opportunity is spread equally, and that’s what the manifesto we’ve set out delivers. For me, this starts with world-class education, because that’s the closest thing we have to a silver bullet. It’s the best economic policy, the best social policy, and the best moral policy – I hope that is something we would agree on. 

Scruffily: Your manifesto promises have been costed as requiring £3K a year tax rises using the same methodology as you used in relation to Labour plans. If you don't accept that that is accurate, it follows that you don't accept the alleged £2K a year tax rises for Labour is accurate either. Will you acknowledge that?

RS: This is not correct. Our manifesto commits to significant net tax cuts. Labour’s unfunded commitments are all in their manifesto and total an extra £2,094 of tax rises per working household. It’s in their DNA – Labour's first, second and third answer to every question is to tax you more, and it’s notable that Labour have point blank refused to rule out extra tax rises in their first Budget this autumn if they win, meaning tax rises are coming very soon.  

I think its morally wrong to whack up people’s taxes after a cost-of-living crisis, and I will fight against Labour’s tax rises for every minute of this campaign.

DrSalome: How is it that after 14 years of your party in power my local NHS has got demonstrably worse? Some examples are just from the last three to four years are: Local NHS trust states it no longer refers for podiatry and patients must pay privately. There are NO NHS dentists in my town any more, including for children, so we have to pay privately for everyone. The midwife led birth centre where I spent much of my labour and received excellent care has closed with no plans to reopen due to lack of staff and money, meaning all birthing mothers have to go to a hospital in a different town. My consultant's secretary told me she was unable to arrange my follow up appointment before my medication trial ran out as she is now doing two full time jobs in three days a week. The last time I got a doctor's appointment I was seen by a paramedic earning a fraction of what a doctor earns and without relevant training. When my husband had to go to the out of hours GP there were no doctors on duty, only a nurse. Presumably because they are cheaper. I could go on. Please note NONE of these relate to strikes so please find another reason. Genuinely interested.

RS: I will always back the NHS, so that everyone can get the care they need. I won’t patronise you, a once-in-a-century pandemic placed our NHS under huge strain – 6 million referrals to hospital were missed during that time, so the recovery won't be overnight, and anyone who tells you any different simply isn’t telling you the truth.  

But we are ensuring the NHS is well supported to recover.  In my first budget as Prime Minister, we committed to a record £8 billion package for our health and social care system. Overall, we’re investing a record £164.9 billion a year, 45 percent more than 2019, and the plan is working with waiting lists falling and the first year-on-year improvement in A&E waits outside the pandemic in over 10 years. We are making more care available in the community too, opening 160 Community Diagnostic Centres delivering seven million tests and scans, and introducing Pharmacy First to allow patients to access more treatments on their local high street. Our dentistry plan will deliver 2.5 million more NHS dentistry appointments a year. And we’ve backed the first ever NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which will double doctors’ and nurses’ training places and boost GP training places by 50 percent. 

Labour tries to make out they’d do better, but their record shows the opposite – in Labour-run Wales today, the NHS is in a much worse state. Waiting lists there rose to a record high in March and that means patients waiting in pain for longer under Labour.  

RishisLeavingDo: You say you want to leave the ECHR so you can deport a few vulnerable refugees to Rwanda. How will you safeguard the Good Friday Agreement?

RS: First of all, we are committed to safeguarding the Good Friday Agreement and the principle of consent it enshrines as a key guarantee for those who want to maintain Northern Ireland’s place in the Union.  

On the ECHR, we have worked carefully to ensure our plan to secure our borders and stop the boats is fully compliant with our international obligations, so your question is hypothetical. But if a foreign court does make me decide between it and our national security, I will choose our national security every single time.  

The Rwanda scheme is important because it deters those considering breaking into our country from doing so – it means that those who come here illegally will not get to stay in Britain. Once it is up and running, people will stop getting into unsafe boats, so we will save countless lives too so. It’s the compassionate thing to do.  

AndyPandyismyhero: I have been a TA for over 20 years. In that time I have seen my school go from being able to afford sufficient staff to teach and support every child well, to being cut to the bone in terms of staff. We can no longer afford sufficient stationary, paint, glue,paper, and art materials. Staff do not have access to hot water for hand washing because we can't afford to heat the water. We have no heating in our staff room because we cannot afford to repair or replace the ancient, broken down,heater. Paint is flaking off the walls and mushrooms grow in the damp corridor because we cannot afford to repair or rebuild the 100 year old wooden corridor. Staff, including TAs like me, buy resources regularly so we can do our job, we buy breakfast cereal for children whose parents can't. Children cannot get much needed appointments with CAMHS and we have to pick up the pieces as best as we can. I haven't even mentioned the pitiful rate of pay for what I do. Can you honestly, honestly say you are proud to have been in the party that has allowed this to happen? Because if I, or almost any other person working in a school had been in charge at any point in the last 14 years, we would hang our heads in shame.

RS:  I’m sorry to hear this and would be keen to hear more about which school you work at so we could take a closer look. Clearly schools, and families, had a tough time dealing with Covid and the energy shock from Putin’s war. I made sure the Government delivered unprecedented support – through cost of living payments and energy bill subsidies – to help get people through, but these were two massive shocks we faced in rapid succession.  

School funding is now at its highest ever level in real terms per pupil, and pupil premium funding rates have also had an increase of 10% since 2021-22, helping schools to provide more support to the pupils who need it most. I know schools face wider challenges and we are trying to help with those too. We have committed to put mental health support teams in every school (they are currently in half), we are delivering breakfast clubs targeted at disadvantaged schools, and we are working hard to improve attendance (with 440,000 fewer pupils persistently absent last year vs the year before).  

This is a subject close to my heart. I passionately believe education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet to improve life chances. Since 2010, school standards have improved dramatically – English children are now the best readers in the Western world and 11th in the world for maths, up from 27th when Labour left office in 2010. That is thanks to you and all the staff in our schools who have made it happen. I value your contribution enormously because I know that it is TAs and teachers who are key to making sure every child gets a world-class education and reaches their full potential. 

TheFairyCaravan: My son joined the army 10 yrs ago, when he was 19. He has said that should you win the election and bring in National Service, he will leave. He’s not the only one among his peer group either. Every day he has to try to motivate himself and others to work without the equipment they need. Their accommodation is unsatisfactory, and has rats running around outside in copious amounts. Some blocks have them inside (My spare room is currently full of his kit & belongings because he’s away & can’t run the risk of rats getting in and damaging it all). They don’t have the room to house these extra people, and there will be precious little that can be done with them because training and trade training takes longer than a year. So, how will you address the exacerbation in the recruitment and retention crisis within the armed forces due to this ridiculous policy? My husband served 35yrs and laughed like a drain when it was announced, then said “thank god I’m not still in”.

RS: First, please pass on my thanks to your son and husband for their service – Britain owes them a great debt of gratitude.  

Our National Service policy aims to address two key challenges confronting our country today. First, Britain is facing a more dangerous and divided future than it has in my lifetime. Second, generations of young people don’t always have the opportunities and skills they deserve, which has led to a more fragmented society. National Service will tackle these challenges head-on. Young people will have the choice of spending a year with our Armed Forces or in volunteering roles within their communities, with the overwhelming majority doing the latter (95% in community vs 5% military placements which will be competitive to get into). This approach will ensure that young people acquire the skills they need for life and will foster a more cohesive society by building a stronger national culture of service. Crucially, National Service will not be funded from our defence budget, but by an additional pot of money.  

I’d also like you to know that Conservatives will boost the defence budget to 2.5 percent of GDP by 2030, as I’m sure that’s important to your son and husband too. This will ensure that we can protect British interests at home and abroad and ensure our armed forces have the investment they need. Labour have not matched this, meaning our armed forces will be stretched under them and our enemies will be emboldened. It’s the wrong decision at a time of global instability, leaving Britain less safe, and I urge Keir Starmer to change course and match our commitment. 

ExitChasedByCars: Did you really change the funding formula to divert money from deprived urban areas? Or was that something you just said to get more votes from wealthy rural communities?

RS: I understand that while talent is evenly distributed across Britain, opportunity isn’t. It's crucial to me that we support people in every part of our society, no matter where they live. Labour’s sole focus on certain cities means they neglected other cities, towns and villages across the country when they were in government. As Conservatives, we have a proud record of tackling poverty, creating opportunities, and investing in communities across the country. 

 My goal has been to ensure that places historically left behind and neglected by Labour receive the support they deserve to regenerate and thrive. Our efforts have resulted in a £15 billion investment across Britain, a testament to our dedication to levelling up every part of our country. Our Towns Fund is dedicated to revitalising the centres and high streets of a hundred towns across the country from Blackpool to Bournemouth, Hastings to Hartlepool, Torquay to Telford. Compare this with Labour's track record, who have spent the past five years criticising our support for areas they left behind. 

Hiphopopotamonster: Do you think Nigel Farage is racist?

RS: Racism stings. I’ve experienced it in the past and I've spoken about this recently. But I’m also your Prime Minister running the country two generations after my grandmother emigrated here, leading the most diverse Cabinet in history, and the fact that neither of these things are a big deal tells you Britain is a great country and we have lots to be proud of.  

With regards to Farage, I won’t put labels on people, but I will call out blatant racism when I see it, and there are clearly deep, deep problems in the party he leads. To know my girls may have heard their dad be called a “f***ing P***” by someone campaigning for Reform is shocking. We are better than that as a country.

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