Prime Minister: Let’s get Brexit done and take this country forward

Boris
Johnson, the Prime Minister, speaking today at Conservative Party Conference at
The Manchester Convention Centre, said:

(Check
against delivery)

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 21^st 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