'Boris betrayed us': Telegraph readers set out priorities for new PM

These are the issues Telegraph readers want the next prime minister to tackle first. Join the discussion below

The hustings have finished and the final votes will be flooding in as the battle to become Britain's next prime minister reaches its climax. On September 6, Boris Johnson will make way for either Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss to enter Number 10 and take over the running of the country.

Telegraph readers want that next prime minister to hit the ground running. These are the issues they want to be prioritised. 

Cost of living and energy self-sufficiency

Naturally, the cost-of-living crisis is top of the list. As part of this, many emphasise the urgency of getting the country self-sufficient in energy and urge the new leader to exploit all the resources we have available. Others suggest scrapping green levies and reducing fuel duties to help ease the financial burden on households. 

@William Tell:

"Net zero abandonment would top my list of priorities. We need an urgent program to get this country self-sufficient in energy using all the resources we have available including oil, gas, fracked gas and coal. Plus, accelerate a nuclear power program and please no more wind turbines built inland. They are the worst ever defacers of the countryside. The objective would be to reduce the cost of petrol and diesel drastically - 30/40 per cent at least - and make domestic use of gas and electricity cheap in real terms."

@Mehrdad Khalili:

"Liz Truss must begin her premiership by issuing fracking licences and offering tax incentives for such explorations without delay. It is utter madness that we are not exploiting the huge reservoir of clean natural gas under our feet and are instead chasing some pie-in-the-sky, expensive, uneconomic and unreliable wind and solar alternatives. 

"We are now free from the EU shackles and the Government has a massive majority in the Commons to get whatever legislation that may be needed to get fracking up and running. The only impediment in the new PM's way would be a lack of resolve. If she wants us to believe she really means business then this would be a great first step, and would be hugely popular amongst ordinary British people suffering from the current cost-of-living crisis."

@ Edmund Jones

"The top priority should be the escalating gas and electricity charges that will potentially force millions into fuel poverty. Labour proposes a windfall tax on utility companies to freeze prices and Tories need to come up with an effective answer to this, as simply reducing taxes is not a realistic answer."

Brexit and open-door immigration

While some readers urge the new Tory leader to make the country as unattractive as possible to migrants, others stress the necessity of leaving the ECHR, without which they do not believe the country’s borders can be controlled. 

@Shaun D via Politics WhatsApp group:

"Aside from cost of living, inflation and maintaining the strength of the pound, the new PM's priority should be immigration. It should always be a priority. Seeing that our neighbours from the EU can no longer turn up to get a job, why should illegals arriving with nothing be given opportunities? There are skilled people who can contribute to the economy instead of draining taxpayer money. The new leader should make EU work permits/visas easy to obtain."

@Nicola Spindler:

"Illegal immigration should be immediately stopped. We need to manage the people already here and deport anybody who doesn’t have the right to be here. We must get out of the ECHR. 53,000 migrants from small boats in two years is utterly ridiculous. We know they are economic migrants who want to come here for all the freebies. My support is lost unless I see this issue prioritised and dealt with."

@Robert Hutson:

"Stop the boats coming across the Channel. That is the primary reason people voted Brexit and the Government has failed miserably. I strongly support Conservative and Brexit opportunities but we need to make our great country positively unattractive to these boat people and they will soon stop."

@Nick Dixon:

"The new PM must prioritise exiting the ECHR, without which we cannot control our borders. This is what the vast majority of people voted for at the last election."

@ Ian Anderson

"Immigration is my top priority; as we are being swamped by immigrants when we can’t look after our own people. The NHS waiting crisis, with shortage of GP appointments and ambulances, all come down to one thing: too many people for services to cope with. 

 "We must reduce the population, not increase it, and that starts with stopping all illegal immigration come what may!"

Welfare and the NHS

Many readers want the new prime minister to urgently pursue ways to reform our failing healthcare system. Some propose scrapping unnecessary jobs, reintroducing convalescent homes, increasing access to in-person GP appointments and implementing training for all doctors and nurses. 

@John Waine, Nuneaton via Politics WhatsApp group:

"Drastic and urgent action to resolve the mess which is the NHS. GPs must be made to work full time and offer in-person consultations when requested by patients; administrative salaries must be frozen, along with a ban on creating any new administration jobs (to prevent any additional funds being wasted in the way that much of the NI increase was)."

@ Veronica Newman via Politics WhatsApp group:

"Welfare is in great need of improvement. We need measures in place to enable the medically fit to leave hospital to stop the congestion which is affecting waiting times for treatment. What happened to convalescent homes? Patients would be sent to convalesce until they were able to go home. Surely some of the vast sums poured into the NHS could be used to start that system again. 

"The new prime minister will have a vast challenge ahead of them but, one step at a time, we will see conditions improve steadily. It is not going to happen overnight but people will be happy to feel that important issues are being tackled to get us out of this spiral of despair."

@Christopher Bloy: 

"Health and social care. The NHS is simply broken. Tinkering is not enough. The new PM must embrace a different model which includes a privately funded or insurance-based component. Sufficient training must be provided for 100 per cent of the doctors and nurses the country requires. No more plundering the third world."

@Clodagh Law:

"The new leader must reform the behemoth that is the NHS. They should consider increasing the number of places for medical students and make them commit to at least five years of service in the UK - it is six years for military pilots!"  

What else? The Boris legacy 

Also on the list of priorities were maintaining the country’s support of Ukraine, getting tough on crime and standing up for farmers. Many also made it clear that they want Boris Johnson’s successor to execute all his unfulfilled promises.

@Simon Holder:

"All I want Liz Truss to do is finally implement what Boris Johnson was elected to do but became woefully distracted by opposing voices. If only he had the guts and determination that I hope Liz Truss has. Otherwise, having won on a Brexit mandate, Mr Johnson’s legacy will be trashed. All Brexit promises must be quickly and ruthlessly applied or we will be sucked back into the maw of a fractured and undemocratic EU. Boris betrayed us - Truss must implement his initial promises and fast - borders, VAT cut, illegal immigration and wokeness must be sorted."

@Steve Cousens via Politics WhatsApp group:

"Policing matters most and the tragic death of a minor in Liverpool shows the police can't manage alone. Perhaps radical change is needed such as bringing the army in to deal with drug gangs and leaving the police to deal with simpler tasks like car theft that is seemingly ignored."

@ Jonathan Karmi via Politics WhatsApp group:

"The number-one priority should be maintaining the UK's steadfast position in support of Ukraine. The defeat of the Russian army will lead to the overthrow of Vladimir Putin and deal a hammer blow to Russian imperialism, which in turn will give the Chinese pause for thought. 

"It will massively strengthen the free world and economic benefits will flow from that."

@John Stevens:

"The next PM should prioritise standing up for farmers and not allowing the ploughing up of farmland for building large-scale house developments in areas where housing is not needed. 

"Here in Cornwall, the council is applying to compulsory purchase a large area of farmland to build a 'village', something not needed in the county. A county which has seen non-stop building on green fields since 2010. 

"So, new PM, please can we have a sensible house building policy, based on empirical evidence and not one formed on a 'finger in the air' guess on how many houses the country actually needs and where the houses need to be built?"

@Paul Anderson:

"The next Tory leader must prioritise defence. Money spent here is never wasted. It secures our steel and technology industries and for those who serve it bequeaths confidence, leadership and fitness that lasts a lifetime. This also includes continuing to support the front line in Ukraine."


What issues do you want the new prime minister to prioritise and why? Tell us in the comments section below 

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