PM: WE’LL BE A WELL
As Boris Johnson faces the most important conference of his career, he tells Britain mere recovery is not enough
Tory Party conference of his career, Mr Johnson said pay was on the up across Britain – “fundamentally a good thing” – and promised the UK would become a “well-paid, well-skilled, highly productive economy”.
He said: “For the first time in a decade we are seeing wages going up around the country.
“Wages are going up faster for those on lower incomes. That is what we mean by levelling up.
“What the UK shouldn’t be doing is to continue to try to be a low-wage, low-skills, low-productivity economy.”
He added, during a visit to Leeds General Infirmary: “People don’t want that. They want us to be a well-paid, wellskilled, highly productive economy and that’s where we’re going.”
Polling by Opinium last night showed the Tories have now extended their lead over Labour by one point, to 39 per cent versus 35 per cent.
Mr Johnson faces his party today with a backdrop of the fuel crisis – and growing fears for winter supplies. There is also a hunger from veteran and recent Tory MPS alike for the PM to reveal his plans and for a return to traditional party values.
Some 10,000 Tory members are expected at the conference in Manchester.
The Prime Minister said: “Only the Conservatives are getting on with the job, tackling the longterm challenges this country faces.
“That means taking the big, bold decisions on the priorities people care about – like on social care, on supporting jobs, on climate change, tackling crime and levelling up.
“This Conservative government has a track record of delivering on the people’s priorities: we Got Brexit Done and secured a deal with the EU – keeping our election promise.
“On Covid, we rolled out unprecedented levels of economic support, protecting livelihoods and keeping businesses afloat.and thanks to our NHS, scientists and so many others, our successful vaccine rollout has saved thousands of lives, prevented countless hospitalisations and has allowed the economy and society to begin returning to normality.
“All of this shows we are delivering – and now it is time to go further, not only to recover but to Build Back Better with decisive action on more jobs, more police and supporting health and social care.
“The Conservatives are getting on with the job, with a strong and united team.”
In his first interview since taking the Treasury job, Mr Clarke said that the “fundamentals are there” for the UK to succeed.
He said: “This is the first opportunity to reset after the height of the pandemic and to get back to that core mission we were elected to deliver. It has been the most extraordinary period of most of our lives. There is no getting away from the fact that we have spent £400billion responding to the Covid crisis and making sure not just the health service is properly supported but families and communities and businesses are supported.
“That has come at a massive cost to the Exchequer and that is very serious.”
But he continued: “Thanks to the vaccine programme we really are in a situation where we can move forward. The employment situation is genuinely very strong.
“There are more than a million vacancies in the employment market, unemployment has fallen seven months in a row.
“I feel pretty optimistic we are in a position where the next few years are going to be very exciting.
“There is going to be a chance to exceed expectations and get the country to feel very good.”
He said despite a National Insurance rise to pay for care and
NHS backlogs, the Tories are “absolutely still the party of low tax. I believe people know instinctively how better to spend their money on their priorities more than a Government does.
“We all hope the economy will
cent) felt Brexit was having a negative impact on the economy and three in five (59 per cent) think Brexit has gone badly, while 32 per cent believe it has gone well. But Mr Clarke said: “It is a cop-out to say it is about Brexit.
“The real story of Brexit...is the opportunities it has unlocked.
“From the vaccines programme, which simply would not have happened at the pace that it did had we been a member of the EU, to things like the Free Port programme, which will make a big difference in areas like mine.
“The HGV sector as a whole has an older age profile and there is a shortage of new entrants which dates back well beyond recent months. This is a structural challenge exacerbated by Covid.
“We have got to put an end to the reliance on cheaper foreign labour which is exactly why people voted to leave the EU.
“We need to work in the context