Boris
Johnson, the Prime Minister, speaking today at Conservative Party Conference at
The Manchester Convention Centre, said:
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It’s
great to be here in Manchester at the best attended conference for years
and
I know that some of you may have been mildly peppered with abuse on the way in
but
are you abashed? are you downcast?
Of
course not. We are conservatives and we get on with serving the people
and
speaking of service I should begin by paying tribute to my predecessor
Theresa,
I know the whole of conference remains full of gratitude to you, and to Philip
May, for your patience and your forbearance, and yes, we will continue with the
work of tackling domestic violence and modern slavery
and
building on your legacy
I
have been prime minister for only seventy days but
I have seen so many things that give cause for
hope
hospitals
that are finally getting the investment to match the devotion of the staff
schools
where standards of reading are rising through the use of synthetic phonics
police
colleges where idealistic young men and women are enrolling in large numbers to
fight crime across the country
shipyards
in Scotland that are building superb modern type 26 frigates for sale around
the world –
and
every one of those high wage high skill jobs in shipbuilding is a testament to
the benefits of belonging to the United Kingdom
the most successful political partnership in
history
which
we will protect
and
we will defend against those who would wantonly destroy it
and
I say to Ruth Davidson as well
thank you for everything you did for the cause
of Conservatism and unionism in Scotland
and Ruth, we will honour your legacy too
and I am proud of the role this government is
playing in every one of those investments
and they are only possible because
It
was this Conservative government that tackled the debt and the deficit left by
the last Labour government
It
was because we cleared up the wreckage they left behind that we now have
record
employment
wages
rising the fastest for 10 years
and
we have record Foreign Direct Investment of £1.3 trillion
and
so many reasons to be confident about our country and its direction
and
yet we are like a world class athlete with a pebble in our shoe
there
is one part of the British system that seems to be on the blink
If
parliament were a laptop, then the screen would be showing the pizza wheel of
doom
If
parliament were a school, Ofsted would be shutting it down
if
parliament were a reality TV show the whole lot of us would have been voted out
of the jungle by now
But
at least we could have watched the speaker being forced to eat a kangaroo
testicle
And
the sad truth is that voters have more say over I’m a celebrity than they do
over this House of Commons
Which
refuses to deliver Brexit, refuses to do anything constructive and refuses to
have an election
just
at the moment when voters are desperate for us to focus on their priorities
we
are continuing to chew the supermasticated subject of Brexit
when
what people want
what
leavers want
what
remainers want
what
the whole world wants – is to be calmly and sensibly done with the subject, and
to move on
and
that is why we are coming out of the EU on October 31, come what may Conference
let’s
get Brexit done
we
can we must and we will
even
though things have not been made easier by the surrender bill
we will work for a deal with our EU friends;
but whatever happens we must come out by the end of October
let’s
get this thing done – and then let’s get ready to make our case to the country
against
the fratricidal anti-semitic Marxists who were in Brighton last week
last
week Jeremy Corbyn had a number of damaging and retrograde ideas in his speech
he
wants a 4 day week – which would slash the wages of people on low incomes
he
wants to ban private schools and expropriate their property
Even
though it would cost the taxpayer seven billion to educate the kids
he
wants to stamp out excellence in schools by banning Ofsted
the
inspectors who ensure that schools are safe for our children
but
he had one good idea
– he had a whole paragraph repeating what
he has said every week for the last three years
he wants an election now – or that is what he
was going to say, poor fellow
the only trouble is that the paragraph was
censored by john McDonnell or possibly Keir Starmer
so
we have the astonishing spectacle of the leader of the opposition being
prevented by his colleagues from engaging in his constitutional function which
is to try to remove me from office
and
in this age of creative litigation I am surprised that no one has yet sued him
for breach of contract
though
it now appears that the SNP may yet try to bundle him towards the throne
like
some Konstantin Chernenko figure
Reluctantly
propelled to office in a Kremlin coup
so
that they get on with their programme for total national discord
turning
the whole of 2020 – which should be a great year for this country – into the
chaos and cacophony of two more referendums
– a second referendum on Scottish
independence, even though the people of Scotland were promised that the 2014
vote would be a once in a generation decision
and
a second referendum on the EU? Can you imagine?
another
3 years of this?
but
that is the Corbyn agenda – stay in the EU beyond October 31,
and
paying a billion pounds a month for the privilege, followed by years of
uncertainty for business and everyone else
As for the Lib Dems, their idea of serving the
national interest was to write to Jean-Claude Juncker urging him NOT to give
this country a better deal
While
the leader has called for a second referendum
While
pledging to campaign against the result
It’s
time to respect the trades descriptions act
And
take the word democrat out of the liberal democrats
My
friends
I
am afraid that after three and a half years people are beginning to feel that
they are being taken for fools
They
are beginning to suspect that there are forces in this country that simply
don’t want brexit delivered at all
and
if they turn out to be right in that suspicion then I believe there will be
grave consequences for trust in democracy
Let’s
get Brexit done on October 31
Let’s
get it done because of the opportunities that Brexit will bring
not
just to take back control of our money and our borders and our laws
To
regulate differently and better, and to take our place as a proud and
independent global campaigner for free trade
Let’s
get it done because delay is so pointless and expensive
Let’s
get it done because we need to build our positive new partnership with the EU
because
it cannot be stressed too much that this is not an anti-European party and it
is not an anti-European country
We
love Europe
We
are European
but
after 45 years of really dramatic constitutional change we must have a new
relationship with the EU
a
positive and confident partnership- and we can do it
Today
in Brussels we are tabling what I believe are constructive and reasonable
proposals
Which
provide a compromise for both sides
We
will under no circumstances have checks at or near the border in Northern
Ireland
We
will respect the peace process and the Good Friday agreement
And
by a process of renewable democratic consent by the executive and assembly of
Northern ireland
we
will go further and protect the existing regulatory arrangements for farmers
and other businesses on both sides of the border
And
at the same time we will allow the UK – whole and entire – to withdraw from the
EU, with control of our own trade policy from the start.
And
to protect the union
And
yes this is a compromise by the UK
And
I hope very much that our friends understand that and compromise in their turn
Because
if we fail to get an agreement because of what is essentially a technical
discussion of the exact nature of future customs checks
When
that technology is improving the whole time
Then
let us be in no doubt that the alternative is no deal
That
is not an outcome we want
It
is not an outcome we seek at all
But
let me tell you this conference it is an outcome for which we are ready
Are
we ready?
Are
we determined to resolve this?
Let’s
get Brexit done on October 31
because
we must get on and deliver on all the priorities of the people
to
answer the cry of those 17.4 m who voted for Brexit
because
it is only by delivering Brexit that we can address that feeling in so many
parts of the country
that they were being left behind, ignored
and
that their towns were not only suffering from a lack of love and investment
but
their views had somehow become unfashionable or unmentionable
And
let’s get Brexit done for those millions who may have voted remain
But
are first and foremost democrats
And
accept the result of the referendum
and
when I say that I want us to work together, now, to bring this country together
you
are entitled to ask yourselves about my core principles
and
the ideals that drive me and are going to drive me as your prime minister
I
am going to follow the example of my friend Saj
I
am going to quote that supreme authority in my family – my mother
(and
by the way for keen students of the divisions in my family you might know that
I have kept the ace up my sleeve – my mother voted leave)
and
my mother taught me to believe strongly in the equal importance, the equal
dignity, the equal worth of every human being on the planet
and
that may sound banal but it is not
and
there is one institution that sums up that idea
The
NHS is holy to the people of this country because of the simple beauty of its
principle
that
it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from
but
when you are sick the whole country figuratively gathers at your bedside
and
does everything it can to make you well again
and
everybody pays to ensure that you have the best doctors and the best nurses and
the most effective treatments known to medical science
and
after 70 years the results are – on the whole –amazing
when
I was a kid the word cancer was a death knell
and
heart attack was a terrifying thought
well,
we are slowly defeating the legions of disease
This
country has seen the fastest falls in breast cancer in Europe
but
we have so much more to do
on
Monday I went to the north Manchester general hospital
and
I saw the incredible work they are doing with reconstructive maxillo-facial
surgery
on
people who only a decade ago would have been permanently disfigured by their
traumas
and
for whom hope and confidence is so important
I
talked to the patients and every one of them was bursting with praise for the
staff and their energy and devotion
but
conference that fantastic hospital was built in 1876
To
serve the workhouse
and
we were walking down long narrow nightingale wards that were designed by the
pioneer of nursing
and
as one of the managers told me
that
asking those professionals to work in that environment
is
like asking a premiership footballer to play on a ploughed field
and
so I was proud to tell them under this government we will totally rebuild that
hospital
So
that we are not only recruiting more doctors and nurses, and training them
but
in the next 10 years we will build 40 new hospitals
in
the biggest investment in hospital infrastructure for a generation
because
after 70 years of the existence of the NHS
– 44 of them under a Conservative
government
it
is time for us to say loud and clear
We
are the party of the NHS
and I claim that title because it is our one
nation conservatism
that
has delivered and will deliver the economic growth
that
makes those investments possible
and
it is we Conservatives who will solve the problem of social care
and
end the injustice that means people have to sell their home
to
pay for their old age
and
if you ask me how we are going to do it
how
we are going to grow the UK economy
I
will tell you that it is by raising the productivity of the whole of the UK
not
with socialism
not
with deranged and ruinous plans borrowed from the playbook of Bolivarian
revolutionary Venezuela
but
by creating the economic platform for dynamic free market
capitalism
yes,
you heard it right
capitalism
– and when did you last hear a Tory leader talk about capitalism
we
are the party of the NHS precisely because we are the party of capitalism
not
because we shun it, or despise it
and
we understand the vital symmetry at the heart of the modern British economy
between
a dynamic enterprise culture and great public services
and
I have seen this formula in action
now
who comes from London?
who
lives there?
no
disgrace in that – I used to be mayor there
and
it is one of the many astonishing things about our nation’s capital that it is
the most productive region in the whole of Europe
because
in 1863 this country led the world in putting trains in tunnels, among other
breakthroughs
and
yet there are many other regions of the country that are far less productive
and
that represents not just an injustice
but
a massive opportunity
I
believe that talent and genius and initiative and chutzpah are evenly
distributed across the whole UK
but
it is also clear that opportunity is not evenly distributed
and
it is the job of this one nation conservative govt
– to unlock talent in every corner of the
UK
because that is the right thing to do in
itself
and
because that is the way to release the economic potential of the whole country
and
the first thing we must do in spreading opportunity is to insist on the equal
safety of the public wherever you live
to make your streets safer
and
that is why we are recruiting 20,000 new police officers
and that is why we are committing now to
rolling up the evil county lines drugs gangs
that predate on young kids and send them to
die in
the
streets to feed the cocaine habits of the bourgeoisie
and we will succeed
and
yes we will be tough on crime
we
will make sure that the police have the legal powers and the political backing
to use stop and search
because it may be controversial
but
believe me that when a young man is going equipped with a bladed weapon
there
is nothing kinder or more loving or more life-saving you can do than ask him to
turn out his pockets
and
yes, when people are found guilty of serious sexual or violent offences,
we
will make sure that they serve the sentence they should – if only for the
protection of the public
but we will also do everything we can to stop
people becoming criminals
with rehabilitation
education in prisons
so
that they are not just academies for crime
and we are investing in youth clubs and better
FE training
to
give young people the best possible antidote to the criminal instinct
the
prospect of a good job
and
indeed the best way to level up and to expand opportunity
is
to give every kid in the country a superb education
so
that is why we are levelling up education funding across the country
So that every child has the chance to express
their talents
and that’s why we are investing in transport
from
northern powerhouse rail
to
a huge new agenda of road improvements
And
yes I admit I am a bit of a bus nut
I
confess that I like to make and paint inexact models of buses
With
happy passengers inside
But
it is not just because i am a bus nut that we want
to
expand bus transport
With
clean, green buses and contactless payment by card or phone
a
good bus service can make all the difference to your job
To
your life
To
your ability to get to the doctor
To
the liveability of your town or your village
And
to your ability to stay there and have a family there and start a business
there
And
it is for exactly the same reason
To
increase connectivity and liveability
that
we are putting in gigabit broadband
spreading
across the country like tendrils of superinformative vermicelli
because
that is the way to unite the country
to
spread opportunity
to
bring the country together
and
there is another vital effect
with
the right infrastructure and education and technology
you
increase the productivity of the whole UK economy
if
the streets are safe, and if the transport links are there, and if there are
good broadband connections
you
enable new housing to go ahead
on
brownfield sites that were never considered viable before
we
enable young people to get a foot on the housing ladder
and
we enable people to live near the good jobs
and
above all – with safe streets and affordable housing and fantastic wifi – we
give business the confidence to invest and to grow
that
is the virtuous circle
that
is the balance and the symmetry at the heart of our one nation project
and
there are so many ways in which we are pulling ahead
London
has overtaken New York as the number one city for investment in fintech firms
and
that is before we have even delivered Crossrail
which
was on time and on budget when I left
And
isn’t it time we had a Mayor who is focused on the job – which is why i am
backing Shaun Bailey
here
in Manchester we are seeing an extraordinary growth in genomics, with
a
flood of inward investment from banking and insurance to IT
and
that is before we have delivered northern powerhouse rail
in
the west midlands we are seeing a 21st century industrial revolution
in battery technology
one
in five of the electric cars sold in Europe is now made in the UK
and
that is before we have begun Andy Street’s vision of a West Midlands metro
With
infrastructure education and technology we will drive up the productivity of
this country and bring it together
I
do not for one moment doubt the patriotism of people on all sides of this Brexit
argument but I am fed up with being told that our country can’t do something
when
I believe passionately that it can
thanks
to British technology there is a place in Oxfordshire that could soon be the
hottest place in the solar system
the tokamak fusion reactor in Culham
and if you go there you will learn that this
country has a global lead in fusion research
and
that they are on the verge of creating commercially viable miniature fusion
reactors for sale around the world
delivering
virtually unlimited zero-carbon power
now I know they have been on the verge for
some time
it is a pretty spacious kind of verge
but remember it was only a few years ago when
people were saying that solar power would never work in cloudy old Britain
and
that wind turbines would not pull the skin off a rice pudding
well there are some days when wind and solar
are delivering more than half our energy needs
we
can do it
we
can beat the sceptics
we
are already using gene therapy to cure blindness
– this country leads the way in satellite
technology
and
we are building two space ports, one in Sutherland and one in Newquay
soon
we will be sending missions to the heavens
geostationary
satellites
conference
can you think of anyone who could trial the next mission
can
you think which communist cosmonaut to coax into the cockpit?
and
let’s get Brexit done on October 31
not
just because we have such an immense agenda to take this country forward
but
because Brexit is an opportunity in itself
We
will take back control of our fisheries and the extraordinary marine wealth of
Scotland
and
it is one of the many bizarre features of the SNP that in spite of being called
names like Salmond and Sturgeon they are committed to handing back those fish
to the control of the EU
we
want to turbo-charge the Scottish fishing sector; they would allow Brussels to
charge for our turbot
we
will be able to allow UK businesses to have bigger tax breaks for investment in
capital
we
can do free ports and enterprize zones
we
can ban the shipment of live animals
and
yes, we will have those free trade deals
we
already have some astonishing exports
just in the last few months I have seen an Isle
of Wight ship-builder that exports vast leisure catamarans to Mexico
we
export Jason Donovan CDs to North Korea
we exported Nigel Farage to America – though
he seems to have come back
and
across the world there are countries that are yearning to engage with us
where
we have old friendships and burgeoning new partnerships
and
that is the vision for Britain
a
country that is open, outward-looking, global in mindset and insisting on free
trade
a
high wage, low tax, high skill, high productivity economy – with incomes rising
fastest for those who are lowest paid
a
country where we level up and unify the entire United Kingdom through better
education, better infrastructure and technology
a
country where provided you obey the law and do no harm to others you can live
your life and love whomsoever you choose
a
country that leads the world with clean green technology and in reducing
greenhouse gases that cause climate change
a
country that is happy and confident about its future
that
is the vision for the country we love
and
when the opposition finally screw their courage to the sticking point and agree
to have an election
when
the chlorinated chickens waddle from the hencoop where they are hiding
that
is the vision of the country that we will put to the people
–
and
the choice is clear
We
put up wages – with the biggest expansion of the living wage for a generation;
Corbyn would put up taxes for everyone
We
back our superb armed forces around the world; Corbyn has said he wants them
disbanded
We
want an Australian-style points based system for immigration; Corbyn says he
doesn’t even believe in immigration controls
If
Jeremy Corbyn were allowed into Downing Street, he would whack up your taxes,
he would foul up the economy, he would rip up the alliance between Britain and
the USA, and he would break up the UK
We
cannot allow it to happen
but
it is worse than that
It
has become absolutely clear that he is determined now to frustrate Brexit
What
do we want and need? Do we want more dither and delay
Do
we want to spend another billion pounds a month that could be going on the NHS?
Let’s
get Brexit done
and
let’s finally believe in ourselves and what we can do
This
country has long been a pioneer
we
inaugurated the steam age, the atomic age, the age of the genome
we
led the way in parliamentary democracy, in female emancipation
and
when the whole world had succumbed to a different fashion, this country and
this party pioneered ideas of free markets and privatisation that spread across
the planet
Every
one of them was controversial, every one of them was difficult
but
we have always had the courage to be original, to do things differently, and
now we are about to take another giant step
to
do something no one thought we could do
to
reboot our politics
to
relaunch ourselves into the world
and
to dedicate ourselves again to that simple proposition that we are here to
serve the democratic will of the British people
and
if we do that with optimism and confidence then I tell you we will not go wrong
Let’s
get on with sensible moderate one nation but tax-cutting Tory government
and
figuratively if not literally let us send Jeremy Corbyn into orbit where he
belongs
Let’s
get Brexit done
Let’s
bring our country together
ENDS
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