Time for a glorious British renaissance
THROWING off EU shackles will see the UK enter a glorious new era and herald a “great British renaissance”, Priti Patel has said.
Speaking on the first anniversary of being appointed Home Secretary, Ms Patel said yesterday: “January 1 is going to be one of those totemic moments in the history of this country, a landmark moment.
“We are ending free movement. We are a government that’s all about delivery. The points-based system is just the first step to big immigration changes, changes to border control.”
Highlighting more economic investment throughout the UK, Ms Patel said: “We want to get Britain moving again but we actually want to get Britain motoring.
“We want to see the renaissance of our regions, we want to level up. We have levers to do all that so this is just the start.”
Ms Patel spoke during a visit to Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs, to meet local police, in which she declared the Conservatives the party of law and order.
Respect
She said: “We have a first-class working relationship with the police. I am absolutely shoulderto-shoulder with them.
“We don’t stand behind them, we stand beside them.”
Ms Patel said 90,000 people had applied to be police officers since last October and the Government was well ahead of its police recruitment targets.
Forces have received £1.1billion – the largest uplift in funding in a decade – which Ms Patel said was “moving the needle” on law enforcement.
She said: “We love the police, we respect the police, we are here for the police, we are the party of law and order.”
Ms Patel, who visited the Blue Glove Boxing Academy, a gym for emergency services workers, praised police for their “exceptional” service during the coronavirus crisis.
She said there had been a “spirit of national unity” with police at the forefront.
Police have warned they will not be able to widely enforce new rules from today ordering people to wear face masks in shops.
But Ms Patel said: “People will apply their common sense. We don’t need police to go round in a pernicious way to act in an enforcement way.”
The Home Secretary said she used her first year to empower and equip police, including making controversial stop-and-search measures easier.
She said: “I’ve spent plenty of hours, too many sadly, with parents that have lost their children to street violence. The parents have said to me repeatedly, ‘We need more stop and search’.
“When it comes to saving lives we should be unapologetic.”
Ms Patel said she was serious about getting violent crime down, tackling knives was a priority and machetes “half my height” were being taken off the streets.