Sunak’s sitting on the sidelines is penny wise and pound foolish in uncertain times | Richard Partington

PM needs to unfreeze from headlights of dire UK economic position and partner business in boosting investment

As he stood on the steps of Downing Street for the first time as prime minister, Rishi Sunak said the task at hand was simple. Britain was facing a profound economic crisis, reeling from the mistakes of his predecessor, the Covid pandemic and Russia's war in Ukraine. Confidence and stability had to be restored.

This week Sunak will reach 100 days in power - already more than twice Liz Truss's disastrous tenure. But while progress has been made since last October to repair the damage of the true Tory budget", stopping the bleeding was the easy bit. When it comes to restoring confidence with a vision for the future of Britain's economy, no clear direction has been set.