Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday moved to reset his embattled leadership with a policy blitz aimed at tackling Britain’s cost-of-living crisis, including contentious new measures to boost home ownership.
After narrowly escaping removal via a no-confidence vote among his own Conservative MPs on Monday, Johnson is now under pressure to turn the page on a series of scandals including lockdown-breaching parties in Downing Street.
In a speech later, he was to pledge ‘more affordable energy, childcare, transport, and housing’. according to excerpts released by Downing Street which were obtained by Africa Daily News, New York on Friday.
‘And, while it’s not going to be quick or easy, you can be confident that things will get better, that we will emerge from this a strong country with a healthy economy,’ Johnson added.
The scale of the inflationary crisis hitting millions of Britons was underlined as the price of filling up the average family car topped £100 ($125) for the first time, according to data from the RAC motoring group.
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RAC spokesman Simon Williams termed it ‘a truly dark day” for hard-pressed drivers, and urged the government to slash sales tax on petrol and diesel.
The government says much of the crisis is caused by factors beyond its control, such as the impact of the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
But with two difficult by-elections coming up this month, unhappy Tory MPs want bolder measures including tax cuts after 40 percent of them voted against Johnson on Monday.
Senior minister Michael Gove told Sky News that “home ownership is not just good for individuals, it’s good for society overall”.
He vowed the measures would help redress a crippling shortage in housing stock that has seen both purchase and rental prices rocket well out of reach of many Britons, especially younger adults.
But the opposition Labour party noted that the plan would need billions in extra money, which Gove admitted was not on offer, relying instead on existing funding at a time when the Treasury is already trying to rein in government spending.
