(Check against delivery)
“It’s
great to be with you here in Bristol this evening. Now, this great city and
communities across Britain face a crucial choice, who will lead Britain through
Brexit and beyond? Will it be me and my team showing the strong and stable
leadership that our country needs? Or will it be Jeremy Corbyn at the head of a
coalition of chaos as we’ve just heard made up of Labour, the Liberal Democrats
and the SNP. So much depends on getting the next five years right, our future
prosperity, our place in the world, our standard of living and I have
determined to earn every vote I can because that will strengthen my hand in the
Brexit negotiations and help us to secure the best deal for Britain.
And
these negotiations will not be easy, the 27 European member states united in
their determination to get the deal that works for them. We must show the same
unity of purpose here at home to ensure that we get a deal that works in our
national interests too. Every vote for me and my local team will show that
unity of purpose, it will strengthen my negotiating position, it will help us
to secure the best possible deal for families and businesses across the United
Kingdom. And it is a chance for the country to come together, for us to put the
old divisions behind us, to move beyond the language of leave and remain.
That’s one of the reasons why I oppose parties like the Liberal Democrats
because they stand ready to prop up Jeremy Corbyn’s coalition of chaos, to see
the Brexit process stall and to reopen the old battles of the past. And
remember it may say Liberal Democrat on the ballot but it’s Jeremy Corbyn who
will get the benefit.
At
the last election the South-West made the difference between a strong majority
government and a weak unstable coalition. The other parties are lining up to
prop up Jeremy Corbyn and disrupt our Brexit negotiations, and that would be a
recipe for drift and disaster over and division over what will be very crucial
years for this country and that’s why this election is so important. We need to
secure the leadership the country needs, leadership, stability, doing the right
thing for Britain and that is what you get from a Conservative party in
government and we have shown that in government. And if you just think back to
just under a year ago when I took over as Prime Minister, people predicting
that there was going to be immediate financial chaos, economic danger, what
we’ve actually seen is record numbers of jobs, consumer confidence remains high
and growth has been beyond all expectations.
At
that time when I took over, people were saying the country was divided it would
never come together again. But what I now see is a unity of purpose in this
country for us to get on with Brexit and make a success of it. And when I took
over as Prime Minister what the country needed was a clear vision and a strong
government to deliver on Brexit, to get that process going and that’s what the
Conservative government has delivered. So that is the certainty you get from
and the security you get from a strong and stable government, I think it’s
actually what leadership looks like.
So
as I say there is a very clear choice at the next election between me and my
team providing that strong and stable leadership in the national interest, or
Jeremy Corbyn heading that coalition of chaos. And make no mistake, that is
what the other parties are lining up to do. We hear it we see it from the
Liberal Democrats and we see it from Nicola Sturgeon’s Scottish nationalists
too. They want to disrupt the Brexit negotiations, to frustrate and undermine
the task ahead, to stop us from leading Britain forward. And don’t think it
cant happen, the opinion polls got it wrong at the General Election in 2015,
the opinion polls got it wrong at the referendum last year and Jeremy Corbyn
himself has said he was a 200/1 chance for the Labour leadership in 2015 and
look what happened there.
So
we must not be complacent, we must go out and work for every single vote
because this election will be won by real people casting their real votes on
June the 8th. And what we need is to ensure that we can provide that
strong and stable government that is going to lead our country through into the
future, that is going to see us get the best possible deal for Brexit and
that’s a deal that works for all parts of the United Kingdom, the North and
South, for East and West, for town and city and country, for people across the
whole United Kingdom. And you know Brexit isn’t just a process, this isn’t just
about getting Brexit right, it is about taking our country into the future and
beyond Brexit. Because I think we have a once in a generation chance to change
this country for the better and make sure it is a country that works for
everyone and not just the privileged few.
And
it is our party that has the plan for a stronger Britain to do just that. It is
our party that has the strength and stability to deliver for people and that
means delivering for ordinary working families across the United Kingdom.
That’s what our plan is about and that is who I am in this for. So it means
getting the right deal abroad for ordinary working families, for Britain. That
means ensuring that we get the Brexit deal that we need, that we bring back
control of our borders, of our laws, of our money, the decisions that matter to
Britain are made here in Britain. It means that we build a deep and special
partnership with our European allies, it means striking deals for exporting
British goods and services around the rest of the world as well.
It
means leading the world in preventing terrorism and in fighting modern slavery,
it means building Britain as the strongest and most secure country in Europe.
And it also means what we provide for ordinary working families here at home.
Building that stronger economy, an economy that rewards hard work, an economy
that creates secure and higher paid jobs where we see prosperity and growth
spread across the whole of the United Kingdom. It means providing opportunity
for all, ensuring we’re building enough affordable homes, that we’re providing
a good school place for every child. And it means building a secure and more
united nation, that’s about taking action against the extremists who want to
divide us and standing up to the separatists who want to break up this great
United Kingdom of ours.
It
is the Conservative Party that has the plan and the vision to lead this country
into a brighter and better future. And that is the case that I and others will
be making as we go around the country over the next few weeks, taking a
positive message and a positive campaign to people about what we can achieve
together in the future. And I am looking forward as I have been doing in recent
days to getting out and about in different communities hearing people, talking
to them, hearing what their concerns are and putting my message across. Putting
our message across. And we have a very simple case, it is that it is only the
Conservatives that have the plan and the vision to lead this country forward.
It is only the Conservatives that have the leadership we need for the future
but it is only you the people who can give us that mandate. So vote for five
years of strong and stable leadership, give me the mandate to lead Britain,
give me the mandate to speak for Britain, give me a mandate to fight for
Britain and give me the mandate to deliver for Britain.”
ENDS
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