At 10:30pm on January 3, Rishi Sunak tweeted: “New Year is a time for optimism, but I know there’s also a lot of apprehension… in a speech tomorrow I will set out my priorities for the year ahead.”

Despite the mid-level Youtuber branding and ‘New Year, New Me’ sentiments, one thing Rishi’s late-night post got right was that this country is in sharp decline, and he’s doing absolutely nothing about it. So, at a time of national crisis, when our country is facing stagnant wages, crippling labour strikes and a cost of living crisis, what is the prime minister’s headline pledge for today’s speech? Why, it’s Double Maths of course!

In a press release issued by the government in the dead of night, the prime minister’s office declared a “new ambition of ensuring that all school pupils in England study some form of maths to the age of 18”.

The press release then goes on to say that Sunak’s speech will deliver reasoning behind the policy, with the prime minister set to say that “the single most important reason why [he] came into politics” was to “give every child the highest possible standard of education”, and that this particular reform is “personal” as every opportunity he’s had “began with the education [he] was so fortunate to receive”. And with that education priced at £15k per term, no wonder things are working out for him.

The government has conceded that it “does not envisage making maths A-Level compulsory for all 16-year-olds”, and has said that they will explore options such as T-Levels, Core Maths qualifications and other “more innovative” alternatives. Information on what those options look like will be announced “in due course”.

Since the briefing, there has already been considerable pushback, with politicians across the aisle questioning how the government actually plans to implement the policy. Labour’s shadow education secretary has implored the prime minister to “show his working” on who’s coughing up to fund the pledge, while The Association of School and College Leaders have said that there is a "chronic national shortage of maths teachers".

The prime minister is expected to give his speech at 2pm today.

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