Boris Johnson

The Choice is Forward or Groundhog Day with CorbynSturgeon. Very occasionally a historic election takes place that changes not just the following few years but shapes future decades. In 1906, the Liberal government won a majority and the balance of power crucially tipped towards democracy. In 1945, the Conservative Party had lost its way and the Attlee government created the NHS – one of the great achievements in British politics in the 20th century. And in 1979, the Thatcher government dragged Britain out of the nightmare of the Seventies.

Now, in 2019, we face another of these historic elections. Like 1906, 1945 and 1979, the impact of this election will be felt for decades to come. But unlike those elections, in 2019 it is not a single party that has lost its way, but the entire Parliament.

Three years ago this country voted to leave the EU with the biggest democratic verdict ever passed down in British politics. Yet ever since that vote, those MPs who campaigned to remain in the EU have paid lip service to leaving while doing everything in their power to delay, obstruct and block Britain’s exit.

This election is happening because Parliament refused to honour the will of the British people and respect the democratic result of the referendum. We need to break the gridlock in Parliament, end the uncertainty that has held this country back, and get Brexit done to restore trust in democracy in this country.

As in those other historic elections, today we face a simple choice – to move forwards or go back to the past.

The choice is between a working Conservative majority government that will get Brexit done, end the uncertainty and allow Britain to move on. Or another broken hung parliament that will mean more of the same arguing, uncertainty and delay that has left this country in limbo.

If there is a Conservative majority on Friday, we will go forward and get Brexit done on Jan 31. Next year will be a year of investment and growth. It will be the year that we put a broken parliament and its arguments over Brexit behind us.

We will get Parliament working on the people’s priorities – urgent investment in the NHS, urgent action on the cost of living and urgent action

It is closer than many people think – if the SNP and Liberal Democrats win just six more seats each, Jeremy Corbyn will become prime minister

on violent crime. These are the issues that I want to focus on as Prime Minister.

Like you, I want all the talk about Brexit to end. Instead, I want to spend my time recruiting 50,000 more nurses and 20,000 more police.

I want to spend my time tackling GP appointment waiting times. I want to be in Parliament pushing through tougher sentences for violent and sex offenders and cracking down on early release.

I want to get wages rising by investing in our services, in apprenticeships and in infrastructure – and we’ll double investment in basic science research to seek breakthroughs in areas like clean energy. I want to pass a law urgently that guarantees more money for the NHS every year above the rate of inflation. I want to spend my time working with our brilliant security services to strengthen our defences against terrorism.

Crucially, I want to put in place our Australian-style points-based immigration system. This will allow us to make it easier for the brightest talent from around the world to come here. But it will put in place tough new checks to ensure that lower-skilled migrants only enter the UK if there is a specific shortage of workers and that their stay will only be temporary.

Everyone who comes to the UK will contribute to our NHS from day one – that is only fair.

And we can do all this – but only if we get a working majority Conservative government on Dec 12. We only need to win nine more seats to get a government that ends the uncertainty and gridlock and focuses on the issues that matter to you.

But if we don’t win, then on Friday the Corbyn-Sturgeon nightmare alliance will become a reality. Jeremy Corbyn would be prime minister, propped up by Nicola Sturgeon’s SNP, the Liberal Democrats, and other minor parties. It is closer than many people think – if the SNP and Liberal Democrats win just six more seats each, Jeremy Corbyn will become prime minister.

And this would mean another broken hung parliament with every day next year a Groundhog Day in Parliament. We would be straight back to MPs screaming at each other every day about the referendum, arguing over political process and arcane constitutional traditions while the NHS, crime and our schools would all be ignored.

Next year, 2020, would be the year of politicians arguing over two more chaotic referendums – one on Brexit and one on Scotland. And Mr Corbyn has said that in this second EU referendum, he will change the rules and give millions of foreign nationals the right to vote on the UK’s membership of the EU. Imagine the appalling division this will cause – millions will rightly say it was a rigged vote, and there will be a bitterness that lasts decades. Faith in our democratic system will collapse. And nothing else will get done as the whole of politics will do nothing apart from organising referendums for years, even decades, to come.

This would be a total nightmare. Even if he muddled his way through Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn’s policies would take us back to square one. Massive spending, massive borrowing, massive taxes and a four-day week. Imagine what Mr Corbyn’s four-day week will do to public services. What will happen to NHS and A&E waiting times when the four-day week kicks in? What will happen to GP appointments?

And on top of that, Mr Corbyn’s immigration policy will put even more pressure on the NHS and our other public services. He does not just want to keep free movement with the EU – where even murderers have free movement rights – he wants to extend it to the whole world so anyone from anywhere can come here anytime they like. And there would be nothing you could do about it.

In this historic election, it is my hope that the British people will do what they did in the three most important elections of the 20th century. I would urge you to vote, as the British always do when faced with a historic choice, to go forward.

In doing so, you, the public, will ensure that in 2020, politicians focus all the energies of our country on improving our services and making our country fairer.

I, of course, respect the views of the millions who voted Remain in 2016, but I also strongly believe that politicians promised to respect that