Sunak aims at straight talking on the soapbox to woo voters

Rishi Sunak flew to the north of England on Thursday, on a 14-seat RAF jet to show voters there that he understood the cost-of-living crisis.

The prime minister travelled from Accrington, to Morecambe and on to Hartlepool, on a whistle-stop tour aimed at promoting the governments levelling up agenda but which also foreshadowed what could be a long election campaign ahead.

Sunak is likely to spend much of the next two years in this part of Britain as he looks to hold on to the red wall seats his party won in 2019.

During a 50-minute question and answer session with voters in Morecambe, Lancashire, he was at pains to show he was a straight-talker who could translate his message outside Westminster. The easiest thing in the world would be for me to promise you the earth, but I wouldnt be being straight with you, he told the crowd of invited attendees.

The Morecambe event was the first in what advisers said would be a series of similar sessions aimed at capitalising on what they see as Sunaks ability to answer questions off the cuff with both detail and charm.