'2023 will have its challenges': UK PM Rishi Sunak's New Year message asking people to have hope

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunka on Saturday asked people to be hopeful about the new year as his government would be doing everything to improve everyone's lives. He said the year 2023 will have its challenges, but the government will always put people's priorities first. 

In his new year's message, Sunak talked about three things - pride, reassurance, and fairness. He said he just wanted people to feel proud of being British, proud of the town and community they call home, and proud of their leaders - that's about restoring trust in politics. 

And the second thing is reassurance, he said, adding that he knows people are anxious at the moment and they want relief and peace of mind that things are going to be okay. He also talked about inflation and energy bills, which have soared in the last few quarters resulting in a huge surge in the cost of living.   

In 2022, the UK witnessed inflation of over 10 per cent, the highest in 40 years. Energy bills also soared over four times due to supply disruption from Russia in the wake of Moscow's military attack on Ukraine - which the West has been opposed to. 

The US, UK, and European countries have announced sanctions and energy import cuts in the hope that they will force Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. However, this has raised the cost of energy in their countries, making the lives of people difficult who are witnessing record-freezing temperatures. 

On Saturday, Sunak said he just wanted people to feel hopeful. He said he knew the past year had been tough, but he was really confident that better times were ahead. "I feel positive about the change we can bring so that we can improve everyone's lives. We can deliver the peace of mind that people are looking for....and on energy bills," he said.   

The UK PM also talked about Russia's attack on Ukraine and how it impacted other countries. Just as the country recovered from an unprecedented global pandemic, he said Russia launched a 'barbaric' and illegal invasion of Ukraine. This has had a profound economic impact around the world, which the UK is not immune to, he said. 

"I know many of you felt the impact at home, that is why this government has taken difficult but fair decisions to get borrowing and debt under control. And it is because of those decisions, we have been able to help the most vulnerable with the rising cost of energy bills," he said. 

The UK government has currently capped energy prices at £2,500, significantly lower than the market price. In November, the UK's Energy regulator Ofgem said the price cap was set to rise to an annual level of £4,279 in January 2023, but bill-payers remain protected under the government’s Energy Price Guarantee (EPG). 

It said for the first three months of 2023, the energy price cap will increase to an annual level of £4,279 for an average dual fuel household paying by direct debit based on typical consumption, but bill-payers will still be protected under EPG until the end of March 2024.

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