"Man is man, woman is woman...that's just common sense": Rishi Sunak

London: United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday, addressing the 2023 Conservative Party conference, put forward a string of major announcements including the scrapping of the HS2 rail line, a program to double the number of doctors and nurses, and raising the age of smoking in the country, Al Jazeera reported.

However, in a controversial statement about the transgender community, which triggered an uproar, Sunak said people in the UK should not be "bullied" into believing they can be any sex they want to be.

"Patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women, and we shouldn't get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They can't. A man is a man, and a woman is a woman; that's just common sense," Al Jazeera quoted him as saying at the conference.

Sunak's decision to scrap the northern leg of the HS2 rail line will make it stop at Birmingham. He defended the decision, citing ballooning costs, adding that changing the plan would free up 36 billion pounds (USD 43.7bn) to be used on new transport projects across the North and Midlands.

"Now the decision I've made and the stance I'm taking will be attacked. They will say that halting it (HS2) signals a lack of ambition; it will be people I respect, people in our own party who will oppose it, but there is nothing ambitious about simply pouring more and more money into the wrong project," Al Jazeera quoted the British PM as saying.

The UK PM also proposed raising the smoking age by one year every year so that children turning 14 this year will not be able to buy cigarettes.
"I propose that in future, we raise the smoking age by one year every year. That means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and that they and their generation can grow up smoke-free," he stated.

In a major announcement regarding the National Health Service, he introduced a reform programme to train and double the number of new doctors and nurses to stray from hiring from abroad and through agencies.

"It is also a reform plan for the NHS. With new ways of training and new roles of new ways of working, all driving up productivity," he stated.
He also announced the creation of a British standard qualification for those aged 16-19, making it mandatory for everyone to study some form of English and maths. He added that more effort will be put into attracting and training new teachers who can teach the two subjects, Al Jazeera reported.

Sunak also spoke on the issue of racism in the UK, comparing it with his own story of rising to Downing Street coming from an immigrant family.
"The people of North Yorkshire were not interested in my colour but my character. Never let anyone tell you this is a racist country. It is not. My story is a British story. A story about how a family can go from arriving here with little to Downing Street in three generations," the UK PM added.