Rishi Sunak said he was “determined to change the direction of our country” despite getting “a lot of flak” for watering down the Government’s green policies.
Asked about the Conservatives’ electoral prospects after the party’s drubbing in the local elections in May, the Prime Minister told BBC Radio Berkshire: “Mid term, whether it’s by-elections, local elections, always tricky for incumbent governments. I get that and I get people are frustrated about what’s been happening over the past couple of years.
“But I am determined to deliver for them. So I set out very clearly at the beginning of the year five priorities… we’re making progress on all, by no means are we there yet and I’m not complacent, we have got to keep working hard at it, that is what I am doing, but I think people will see the benefits of that over time.
“But also the other week I took quite a big decision because I’m determined to change the direction of our country. And that means no longer politicians taking the easy way out, but making the right long-term decisions for the future.
“I did that by charting a new course for net zero – more realistic, more proportionate, more sensible.”
He added: “I got a lot of flak for it but that’s the kind of approach to leadership that I’m going to bring and that’s how we’re going to change things for the better”.
