Passion, conviction, success... Boris is the right man

Last week the British people sent a very clear message. They want change. And it’s up to us in Government to deliver it. I campaigned for the UK to stay in the European Union but the country chose a different path.

All of us in Parliament now have a responsibility to get on with the process of leaving the EU and securing a more prosperous future for Britain as an open, global, trading nation.

We should be optimistic about the potential of our country. Britain has achieved amazing things in the past and, with the right leadership, will do so again in the future.

This leadership must now come from someone who believes in, and campaigned for, leaving the EU. The British people must be able to trust the new prime minister to deliver the instruction they have given. I do not think anyone who campaigned for us to stay in the EU would be able to secure that trust in the same way.

That is just one reason why I am backing Boris Johnson to be the next leader of the Conservative Party and our next prime minister. Though I took a different view during the campaign, Boris argued his case with passion and conviction. He articulated a vision of a prosperous, modern, liberal Britain outside the EU. It is a vision which resonated with the public and which we must unite to deliver.

Our exit from the EU will require careful, detailed and tenacious negotiating and I am particularly delighted Michael Gove and Boris will be working together on this task. I worked alongside Michael at the Department for Education during the Coalition and know he has the radical instincts and tough negotiating skills needed to deliver for Britain. He faced down entrenched opposition from a hostile establishment to deliver an agenda that helped advance social mobility and equality of opportunity.

With Michael’s leadership, we achieved a remarkable amount. We brought rigour to the curriculum, ended grade inflation, opened hundreds of free schools and thousands of academies, ensured a record number of students studied maths and science, and transformed vocational and technical education.

Michael gets results. With him on Boris’s team, I am convinced we can get a good deal for Britain.

The next prime minister will also need to ensure that the programme of domestic reform which David Cameron has led so brilliantly since 2010 is continued and renewed with fresh urgency.

Besides our relationship with the EU, this country still faces deep-seated problems: low productivity, low social mobility, and unnecessary barriers to innovation and creativity. We must do more to improve productivity. We need to ensure we can compete in a global economy. And we have to make opportunity more equal, so that all our children have the skills they need to succeed.

That’s what I believe in and I know it’s what Boris believes in too. More than anyone, he is the politician who can bring the country together. He was twice elected in London on a One Nation Conservative platform and provided inspirational leadership for eight years. He championed social mobility, massively expanded the Living Wage – putting millions into the pockets of London’s lowest paid, oversaw record investment in transport, secured Crossrail and Crossrail 2, and delivered the most successful Olympic Games ever.

He has just led a campaign which secured 17 million votes – the biggest endorsement ever in British electoral history. And now I believe he can bring the country back together and lead a programme of domestic reform and renewal.

I am delighted to be at the heart of this team of radical reformers in Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Nick Boles and many others. It’s a team I believe will deliver the change Britain needs.

‘Michael gets results. With him on Boris’s team, I am convinced we can get a good deal for Britain’