Prime Minister Rishi Sunak visited Stoke-on-Trent today (28 May) and was quizzed by local residents at a Q&A event. 

He was also joined by MP for Stoke-on-Trent North, Jonathan Gullis, for a tour of Churchill China in Sandyford and a visit to Port Vale FC in Burslem. 

The Prime Minister was reportedly met with applause from factory staff and other local MPs as he said "it's great to be here at Churchill China". 

Speaking at a local Q&A event, the Prime Minister said: "I know the last few years have been tough [...] but I hope you saw during that time that I had your back. 

"Whether it was with the furlough scheme, all the support we provided for energy bills, we have got through it. 

"Inflation is down from 11 per cent when I got this job down to 2 per cent, back to normal. Wages have been rising faster than prices for almost a year. We really have turned a corner and I hope you can see the plan is working."

The Prime Minister recently announced plans to introduce national service for all 18-year-olds (Wiki Commons).

Dawn, from Stoke, quizzed the Prime Minister on his recently announced plans to introduce national service for all 18-year-olds. 

She asked: "I've got two sons who would definitely have benefitted from this, but I wanted to know if that could be broadened to cover ex-convicts from prison perhaps. I think that some would benefit from the structure and guidance, the rules that national service provides."

Rishi Sunak responded: "I've been talking to a lot of people since the time I've had this job about what can we do to really transform our country for the better. For young people as you've said, doing something that really provides skills and opportunities is going to be really transformational for their lives.

"I believe service gives you purpose and I think it will be really brilliant for young people to have this rite of passage that they go through with everything that it teaches them and just keeps them out of trouble."