boris johnson farewell speech

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Boris Johnson's final speech as Prime Minister: 6 September 2022

Boris Johnson gave his final speech as Prime Minister on the steps of Downing Street.

Boris Johnson’s final speech as Prime Minister

Well this is it folks

thanks to all of you for coming out so early this morning

In only a couple of hours from now I will be in Balmoral to see Her Majesty The Queen

and the torch will finally be passed to a new Conservative leader

the baton will be handed over in what has unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race

they changed the rules half-way through but never mind that now

and through that lacquered black door a new Prime Minister will shortly go to meet a fantastic group of public servants

the people who got Brexit done

the people who delivered the fastest vaccine roll out in Europe

and never forget - 70 per cent of the entire population got a dose within 6 months, faster than any comparable country

that is government for you – that’s this conservative government

the people who organised those prompt early supplies of weapons to the heroic Ukrainian armed forces,

an action that may very well have helped change the course of the biggest European war for 80 years

And because of the speed and urgency of what you did – everybody involved in this government

to get this economy moving again from July last year in spite of all opposition, all the naysayers

we have and will continue to have that economic strength

to give people the cash they need to get through this energy crisis that has been caused by Putin’s vicious war

And  I know that Liz Truss and this compassionate Conservative government will do everything we can to get people through this crisis

And this country will endure it and we will win

and if Putin thinks that he can succeed by blackmailing or bullying the British people then he is utterly deluded

and the reason we will have those funds now and in the future is because we Conservatives understand the vital symmetry between government action

and free market capitalist private sector enterprise

we are delivering on those huge manifesto commitments

making streets safer – neighbourhood crime down 38 per cent in the last three years

13,790 more police on the streets

building more hospitals – and yes we will have 50,000 more nurses by the end of this parliament and 40 more hospitals by the end of the decade

putting record funding into our schools and into teachers’ pay

giving everyone over 18 a lifetime skills guarantee so they can keep upskilling throughout their lives

3 new high speed rail lines including northern powerhouse rail

colossal road programmes from the Pennines to Cornwall,

the roll-out of gigabit broadband up over the last three years, since you were kind enough to elect me, up from 7 per cent of our country’s premises having gigabit broadband to 70 per cent today.

And we are of course providing the short and the long term solutions for our energy needs

and not just using more of our own domestic hydrocarbons but going up by 2030 to 50 GW of wind power, that is half this country’s energy electricity needs from offshore wind

alone, a new nuclear reactor every year

and looking at what is happening in this country, the changes that are taking place,

that is why the private sector is investing more venture capital investment than China itself

more billion pound tech companies sprouting here than in France, Germany and Israel combined

and as a result unemployment as I leave office, down to lows not seen since I was about ten years old and bouncing around on a space hopper

and on the subject of bouncing around and future careers

let me say that I am now like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function

and I will now be gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote and obscure corner of the pacific

And like Cincinnatus I am returning to my plough

and I will be offering this government nothing but the most fervent support

this is a tough time for the economy

this is a tough time for families up and down the country

we can and we will get through it and we will come out stronger the other side but I say to my fellow Conservatives it is time for the politics to be over folks

and it’s time for us all to get behind Liz Truss and her programme

and deliver for the people of this country

because that is what the people of this country want, that’s what they need and that’s what they deserve

I am proud to have discharged the promises I made my party when you were kind enough to choose me,

winning the biggest majority since 1987 and the biggest share of the vote since 1979.

delivering Brexit

delivering our manifesto commitments – including social care

helping people up and down the country

ensuring that Britain is once again standing tall in the world

speaking with clarity and authority

from Ukraine to the AUKUS pact with America and Australia

because we are one whole and entire United Kingdom whose diplomats, security services and armed forces are so globally admired

and as I leave I believe our union is so strong that those who want to break it up, will keep trying but they will never ever succeed

thank you to everyone behind me in this building for looking after me and my family over the last three years so well including Dilyn, the dog

and if Dilyn and Larry can put behind them their occasional difficulties, then so can the Conservative party

and above all thanks to you, the British people, to the voters for giving me the chance to serve

all of you who worked so tirelessly together to beat covid to put us where we are today

Together we have laid foundations that will stand the test of time

whether by taking back control of our laws or putting in vital new infrastructure

great solid masonry on which we will continue to build together

paving the path of prosperity now & for future generations

and I will be supporting Liz Truss and our new government every step of the way.

Thank you all very much.

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News | Politics

Boris Johnson’s farewell speech, in full

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Boris Johnson pledged his "fervent support" to Tory Party successor Liz Truss as he said farewell to No10 on Tuesday morning.

Here is his speech in full:

Well - this is it, folks.

Thank you everybody for coming out so early this morning.

In only a couple of hours I will be in Balmoral to see Her Majesty the Queen and the torch will finally be passed to a new Conservative leader.

The baton will be handed over in what has unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race – they changed the rules halfway through, but never mind that now.

And through that lacquered black door, a new prime minister will shortly go to meet a fantastic group of public servants - the people who got Brexit done, the people who delivered the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe and never forget 70 per cent of the entire population got a dose within six months, faster than any comparable country.

That is government for you. That’s this Conservative government.

Boris Johnson final farewell

People who organised those early supplies of weapons to the heroic Ukrainian armed forces, an action that may very well have helped change the course of the biggest European war for 80 years.

Because of the speed and urgency of what you did, everybody involved in this government, to get this economy moving again from July last year in spite of all the opposition, all the naysayers, we have and will continue to have that economic strength to give people the cash they need to get through this energy crisis that has been caused by Putin’s vicious war.

And I know that Liz Truss, and this compassionate Conservative government will do everything we can to get people through this crisis, and this country will endure it and we will win.

And if Putin thinks that he can succeed by blackmailing or bullying the British people, then he is utterly deluded.

And the reason we will have those funds now and in the future is because we Conservatives understand the vital symmetry between government action and free market capitalist private sector enterprise.

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We’re delivering on those huge manifesto commitments: making streets safer; neighbourhood crime down 38 per cent in the last three years; 13,790 more police on the streets; building more hospitals and, yes, we will have 50,000 more nurses by the end of the decade and 44 hospitals by the end of... 50,000 by the end of this Parliament, I should say, 40 new hospitals by the end of the decade.

Putting record funding into our schools and into teachers’ pay, giving everybody a lifetime skills guarantee so they can keep upskilling throughout their lives.

Three new high-speed rail lines, three, including northern powerhouse rail, colossal road proud programmes from the pen lines to call the rollout of gigabit broadband up over the last three years I’m proud to say, since you were kind enough to elect me, from 7 per cent of our country premises hadn’t gigabit broadband to 70 per cent today.

And we of course providing the short and the long term solutions for our energy needs, and not just using more of our own domestic hydrocarbons, but going up by 2030 to 50 gigawatts of wind power - that is half this country’s energy electricity needs from offshore wind alone.

A new nuclear reactor every year and looking at what is happening in this country the changes that are taking place, that is why private sector investment is flooding and more private sector more venture capital investment than China itself.

More billion pound tech companies sprouting here in the UK, than in France, Germany and Israel combined.

And as a result unemployment, as I leave office, unemployment down to lows not seen since I was about 10 years old and bouncing around on a spacehopper, my friends.

On the subject of bouncing around in future careers - let me say that I am now like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function and I will now be gently reentering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote and obscure corner of the Pacific.

And like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plough.

And I will be offering this government nothing but the most fervent support.

I’ll tell you why.

This is a tough time for the economy.

This is a tough time for families up and down the country.

We can and we will get through it we will come out stronger the other side.

But I say to my fellow Conservatives, it’s time for politics to be over folks.

It’s time for us all to get behind Liz Truss and her team and her programme and deliver for the people of this country because that is what the people in this country want.

That’s what they need.

And that’s what they deserve.

I’m proud to have discharged the promises I made to my party when you were kind enough to choose me, winning the biggest majority since 1987.

The biggest share of the vote since 1979.

Delivering Brexit, delivering our manifesto committees including by the way, including social care, reforming social care, helping people up and down the country, ensuring that Britain is once again standing tall in the world.

Speaking with clarity and authority from Ukraine to the orcas pact with America and Australia, because we are one whole and entire United Kingdom whose diplomat security services and armed forces are so globally admired.

And by the way, as I believe, as I leave, I believe our union is so strong that those who want to break it up, they’ll keep trying, but they will never, ever succeed.

Thank you to everybody by me in this building.

Thank you to all of you in government.

And thank you to everyone who has helped look after me and my family over the last three years including including Dilyn, the dog, and I just say to my party of Dilyn and Larry can put behind them their occasional difficulties, and so can the Conservative Party.

Above all, thanks to you, to the British people, to the voters for giving me the chance to serve all of you who worked so tirelessly together, to be Covid to put us where we are today.

Together we have laid foundations that will stand the test of time, whether by taking back control of our laws, or putting in vital new infrastructure, great solid masonry on which we will continue to build together paving paving the path of prosperity now and for future generations.

And I will be supporting this trust and the new government every step of the way.

Thank you all very much. Thank you. Goodbye. Thank you.

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'This is it folks': Boris Johnson calls himself a 'booster rocket' in final speech as PM

Boris Johnson compared himself to a Roman statesman famed for his devotion to the republic in a time of crisis as he gave his final speech outside Downing Street.

Political reporter @fayebrownSky

Tuesday 6 September 2022 14:52, UK

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Boris Johnson has delivered his valedictory speech to the nation, describing himself as a "booster rocket that has fulfilled its function".

Speaking outside a packed Downing Street, the outgoing prime minister said: "This is it folks."

Mr Johnson vowed to "get behind Liz Truss every step of the way" and told the Conservative Party that "it is time to get behind" the new prime minister.

Truss and Johnson flying to see Queen - Politics Hub

He championed his administration's achievements, highlighting Brexit, the vaccine rollout and the response to the war in Ukraine.

He blamed President Putin for spiralling energy costs and said he knows Ms Truss and her government "will do everything they can to get through this crisis".

Hinting at what he plans to do next, Mr Johnson said: "On the subject of bouncing around in future careers, let me say that I am now like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function.

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"And I will now be gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote and obscure corner of the Pacific."

Referencing how he was ousted, Mr Johnson jibed that in this "relay race" of government they "changed the rules half way through".

But he said that if Dilyn, the Johnsons' dog, and Larry the No 10 cat "can put behind them their occasional difficulties, then so can the Conservative Party".

He went on to compare himself to Cincinnatus , a Roman statesman who resigned and returned to his farm.

"Like Cincinnatus, I am returning to my plough and I will be offering this government nothing but the most fervent support," Mr Johnson said.

According to tradition, Cincinnatus later returned to serve a second term.

'Completely deluded'

Speaking to Sky News after Mr Johnson left Downing Street for the final time, Angela Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, said it was a "classic Boris Johnson speech" that was "completely deluded about what's happened over the last couple of years and the crisis that people are facing".

She said there was no acknowledgement of "the scandal and sleaze that has engulfed his party and his government over the last couple of years".

Ms Rayner added: "Whether that was him supporting the scandal around Owen Paterson or supporting Chris Pincher with the situation with sexual harassment, whether it was the absolute billions of pounds that was wasted on money that was given to mates through the global pandemic.

"And, of course, the partying that happened when the UK public were told that they had to go into lockdown and had to follow the rules.

"I think it was completely deluded and it stunk of all the hallmarks of somebody who's had a privileged background, who thinks that they can just do what they like."

'Admired from Kyiv to Carlisle'

Mr Johnson was forced to resign after a wave of ministers left his government over a series of controversies, culminating in the Chris Pincher scandal.

There has been speculation that he will be defiant and plot a Trump-style comeback from the backbenches.

After delivering his farewell speech, the outgoing prime minister flew to Balmoral in Scotland to formally tender his resignation to the Queen before Ms Truss's arrival.

Ms Truss was declared the winner of the Conservative leadership race on Monday and has now been confirmed as party leader and prime minister.

On Monday she praised "my friend" Mr Johnson in her victory speech.

"Boris, you got Brexit done, you crushed Jeremy Corbyn, you rolled out the vaccine and you stood up to Vladimir Putin. You are admired from Kyiv to Carlisle," she said.

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Text of Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation speech

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks to media next to 10 Downing Street in London, Thursday, July 7, 2022. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has agreed to resign, his office said Thursday, ending an unprecedented political crisis over his future that has paralyzed Britain’s government. An official in Johnson’s Downing Street office confirmed the prime minister would announce his resignation later. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement had not yet been made. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

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LONDON (AP) — Here is the full text of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation speech, delivered Thursday outside 10 Downing St:

“It is clearly now the will of the parliamentary Conservative Party that there should be a new leader of that party and therefore a new prime minister.

“And I’ve agreed with Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs, that the process of choosing that new leader should begin now and the timetable will be announced next week.

“And I’ve today appointed a Cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place.

“So I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019, many of them voting Conservative for the first time: Thank you for that incredible mandate, the biggest Conservative majority since 1987, the biggest share of the vote since 1979.

“And the reason I have fought so hard in the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person was not just because I wanted to do so, but because I felt it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you to continue to do what we promised in 2019.

“And of course, I’m immensely proud of the achievements of this government, from getting Brexit done to settling our relations with the continent for over half a century, reclaiming the power for this country to make its own laws in Parliament, getting us all through the pandemic, delivering the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, the fastest exit from lockdown, and in the last few months, leading the West in standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.

“And let me say now, to the people of Ukraine, that I know that we in the U.K. will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes.

“And at the same time in this country, we’ve been pushing forward a vast program of investment in infrastructure and skills and technology — the biggest in a century. Because if I have one insight into human beings, it is that genius and talent and enthusiasm and imagination are evenly distributed throughout the population.

“But opportunity is not, and that’s why we must keep levelling up, keep unleashing the potential ever every part of the United Kingdom. And if we can do that, in this country, we will be the most prosperous in Europe.

“And in the last few days, I tried to persuade my colleagues that it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much and when we have such a vast mandate and when we’re actually only a handful of points behind in the polls, even in mid-term after quite a few months of pretty relentless sledging and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally.

“And I regret not to have been successful in those arguments and of course it’s painful not to be able to see through so many ideas and projects myself.

“But as we’ve seen at Westminster, the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves.

“And my friends in politics, no-one is remotely indispensable and our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader, equally committed to taking this country forward through tough times.

“Not just helping families to get through it, but changing and improving the way we do things, cutting burdens on businesses and families and yes, cutting taxes, because that is the way to generate the growth and the income we need to pay for great public services.

“And to that new leader, I say whoever he or she may be, I say I will give you as much support as I can. And to you, the British public.

“I know that there will be many people who are relieved and perhaps quite a few who will also be disappointed. And I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world.

“But them’s the breaks.

“I want to thank Carrie and our children, and all the members of my family who have had to put up with so much for so long.

“I want to thank the peerless British civil service for all the help and support that you have given our police, our emergency services and, of course, our fantastic NHS, who at critical moment, helped to extend my own period in office, as well as our armed services and our agencies that are so admired around the world.

“And our indefatigable Conservative Party members and supporters whose selfless campaigning makes our democracy possible. I want to thank the wonderful staff here at Chequers – here at Number 10, and of course at Chequers. And our fantastic prot force (protection force) detectives, the one group by the way, who never leak.

“Above all, I want to thank you, the British public, for the immense privilege that you have given me and I want you to know that from now on until the new prime minister is in place, your interests will be served and the government of the country will be carried on.

“Being prime minister is an education in itself. I have traveled to every part of the United Kingdom and, in addition to the beauty of our natural world, I have found so many people possessed of such boundless British originality and so willing to tackle old problems in new ways that I know that even if things can sometimes seem dark now, our future together is golden.

“Thank you all very much. Thank you.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson Farewell Speech

Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Conservative Party members to end the politics and support the new incoming leader, Liz … read more

Outgoing British Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged Conservative Party members to end the politics and support the new incoming leader, Liz Truss . In his farewell speech, he touted his party’s accomplishments, including low unemployment and handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Johnson announced his resignation in July 2022 after controversy over parties at 10 Downing Street during COVID-19 restrictions. close

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Boris Johnson Calls on Conservative Party to Unite As He Steps Down As Prime Minister

Boris Johnson cat and dog

Analysis: Boris Johnson's Farewell Speech Shows He's Learned Nothing From His Humiliating Downfall

Politics Editor, HuffPost UK.

We are told that one of the things Boris Johnson wants to do now he’s out of Number 10 is finish his biography of Shakespeare.

So I hope he doesn’t mind me slightly misquoting the Bard to say nothing in his time as prime minister became him like the leaving of it.

Because, just as he has done for much of the last three years, Johnson exited Downing Street refusing to take any responsibility, or show any contrition, for the mistakes which led to his downfall.

As his remaining acolytes looked on, Johnson emerged from the famous front door at 7.30am and declared: “In only a couple of hours from now I will be in Balmoral to see Her Majesty the Queen and the torch will finally be passed to a new Conservative leader.

“The baton will be handed over in what has unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race - they changed the rules half-way through but never mind that now.”

His message was pretty clear - those cowardly Tory MPs had decided to oust him mid-parliament, despite the overwhelming personal mandate he believes he has from the public.

But this rather ignores the fact that, by the time he announced his resignation two months ago, there really was no way back for him. And he had no one to blame but himself.

Dozens of his own ministers had resigned in disgust over the Chris Pincher affair - when he denied knowing anything about previous complaints about the MP’s behaviour before sending colleagues out to lie on his behalf.

That scandal came hard on the heels of the partygate affair , which saw him fined by the police for breaking his own Covid rules and then narrowly survive a vote of confidence by Tory MPs.

These events did not happen in isolation - his position had been precarious for months precisely because of the things he had done.

As one Tory MP told HuffPost UK: “He’s brought down three prime ministers - Cameron, May and himself.”

And if his failure to show contrition wasn’t enough, Johnson went on to list the reasons why - in his head - he should be continuing as PM.

“I am proud to have discharged the promises I made my party when you were kind enough to choose me,” he said.

“Winning the biggest majority since 1987 and the biggest share of the vote since 1979.

“Delivering Brexit. Delivering our manifesto commitments – including social care. Helping people up and down the country. Ensuring that Britain is once again standing tall in the world.”

Inevitably, there was also a hint that he plans a comeback in the future.

He said: “I am now like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function and I will now be gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote and obscure corner of the pacific

“And like Cincinnatus I am returning to my plough and I will be offering this government nothing but the most fervent support.”

But as the historian Mary Beard explained , Cincinnatus - a 5th century Roman politician - led his people, retired to his farm and then came back to power again to suppress a “popular uprising by the underprivileged”.

Liz Truss faces many challenges as she takes over from Johnson, not least the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine.

But a willingness to admit her own failings would mark a welcome departure from the legacy of the man she is replacing in Number 10.

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Boris Johnson speech in full: Watch and read every word of his farewell statement before resigning as PM today

Boris johnson delivered his final speech as prime minister before flying to balmoral to tender her official resignation to the queen.

Boris Johnson has delivered his farewell speech outside 10 Downing Street before officially resigning as Prime Minister later today .

The PM pledged his “fervent support” for Liz Truss in an address at 7.30am on Tuesday, before making the trip to Balmoral to meet the Queen and will hand over the reigns to his successor .

Mr Johnson promised that the next premier’s administration would do “everything we can” to help people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis .

And he branded Vladimir Putin “utterly deluded” if he thought he could succeed by “blackmailing and bullying” the British public through restricting gas supplies, driving up global energy prices .

Boris Johnson’s farewell speech in full

Well this is it folks. Thanks to all of you for coming out so early this morning.

In only a couple of hours from now I will be in Balmoral to see Her Majesty the Queen and the torch will finally be passed to a new Conservative leader.

The baton will be handed over in what has unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race – they changed the rules half-way through, but never mind that now.

And through that lacquered black door a new Prime Minister will shortly go to meet a fantastic group of public servants.

The people who got Brexit done – the people who delivered the fastest vaccine roll out in Europe.

And never forget: 70 per cent of the entire population got a dose within 6 months, faster than any comparable country.

That is government for you – that’s this Conservative Government.

The people who organised those prompt early supplies of weapons to the heroic Ukrainian armed forces, an action that may very well have helped change the course of the biggest European war for 80 years.

And because of the speed and urgency of what you did – everybody involved in this Government – to get this economy moving again from July last year in spite of all opposition, all the naysayers, we have and will continue to have that economic strength to give people the cash they need to get through this energy crisis that has been caused by Putin’s vicious war.

And I know that Liz Truss and this compassionate Conservative government will do everything we can to get people through this crisis, and this country will endure it and we will win.

And if Putin thinks that he can succeed by blackmailing or bullying the British people then he is utterly deluded.

And the reason we will have those funds now and in the future is because we Conservatives understand the vital symmetry between government action and free market capitalist private sector enterprise.

We are delivering on those huge manifesto commitments:

Making streets safer – neighbourhood crime down 38 per cent in the last three years, 13,790 more police on the streets.

Building more hospitals – and yes we will have 50,000 more nurses by the end of this parliament and 40 more hospitals by the end of the decade.

Putting record funding into our schools and into teachers’ pay.

Giving everyone over 18 a lifetime skills guarantee so they can keep upskilling throughout their lives.

Three new high speed rail lines including northern powerhouse rail.

Colossal road programmes from the Pennines to Cornwall.

The roll-out of gigabit broadband up over the last three years, since you were kind enough to elect me, up from 7 per cent of our country’s premises having gigabit broadband to 70 per cent today.

And we are of course providing the short and the long term solutions for our energy needs and not just using more of our own domestic hydrocarbons but going up by 2030 to 50 GW of wind power, that is half this country’s energy electricity needs from offshore wind alone, a new nuclear reactor every year.

And looking at what is happening in this country, the changes that are taking place, that is why the private sector is investing more venture capital investment than China itself.

More billion pound tech companies sprouting here than in France, Germany and Israel combined

And as a result unemployment, as I leave office, down to lows not seen since I was about ten years old and bouncing around on a space hopper.

And on the subject of bouncing around and future careers, let me say that I am now like one of those booster rockets that has fulfilled its function.

And I will now be gently re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down invisibly in some remote and obscure corner of the pacific.

And like Cincinnatus I am returning to my plough, and I will be offering this government nothing but the most fervent support.

More from Politics

This is a tough time for the economy.

This is a tough time for families up and down the country.

We can and we will get through it and we will come out stronger the other side but I say to my fellow Conservatives it is time for the politics to be over folks.

And it’s time for us all to get behind Liz Truss and her programme and deliver for the people of this country.

Because that is what the people of this country want, that’s what they need and that’s what they deserve.

I am proud to have discharged the promises I made my party when you were kind enough to choose me, winning the biggest majority since 1987 and the biggest share of the vote since 1979.

Delivering Brexit; delivering our manifesto commitments – including social care; helping people up and down the country; ensuring that Britain is once again standing tall in the world; speaking with clarity and authority, from Ukraine to the Aukus pact with America and Australia.

Because we are one whole and entire United Kingdom whose diplomats, security services and armed forces are so globally admired.

And as I leave I believe our union is so strong that those who want to break it up, will keep trying but they will never ever succeed.

Thank you to everyone behind me in this building for looking after me and my family over the last three years so well including Dilyn, the dog.

And if Dilyn and Larry can put behind them their occasional difficulties, then so can the Conservative party.

And above all thanks to you, the British people, to the voters for giving me the chance to serve.

All of you who worked so tirelessly together to beat Covid, to put us where we are today.

Together we have laid foundations that will stand the test of time, whether by taking back control of our laws or putting in vital new infrastructure: great solid masonry on which we will continue to build together, paving the path of prosperity now & for future generations.

And I will be supporting Liz Truss and our new government every step of the way.

Thank you all very much.

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How Boris Johnson became the architect of his own downfall

From winning an election promising to ‘get brext done’ through covid-19 and partygate, the former prime minister made plenty of mistakes, writes andrew woodcock . now he has been replaced by liz truss, article bookmarked.

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F ew falls from political grace have been as abrupt and as vertiginous as that of Boris Johnson , ousted from 10 Downing Street little more than three years after his arrival.

Elected on a wave of enthusiasm from both Conservative party members and MPs, Johnson initially seemed an unstoppable phenomenon – one of those rare politicians not only instantly recognisable to the public but also liked by large swathes of them, sparking enthusiasm among constituencies formerly unattainable to the Tories.

Promising to take the UK to the fabled “sunlit uplands” of Brexit , he presented himself – and was accepted by many voters – as a “fresh start”, somehow unconnected to the years of austerity under David Cameron and the tortured agonies of Theresa May’s time in charge.

He saw himself as a historic figure, like his hero Winston Churchill, whose premiership would be remembered as a pivotal moment for the resurgence of Britain as a global force. As recently as last year, he was letting it be known that he expected a decade or more at No 10. Now he departs after a tenure only a few weeks longer than Ms May’s and half the length of his former Oxford chum Cameron’s, a diminished figure rejected by his own MPs and much of the electorate, with little to show for the grand promises he made.

Those promises were on full display in his first speech as prime minister on the steps of Number 10, after returning from the Palace on 24 July 2019. Vowing to prove “the doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters” wrong, he boasted that his government would allow the UK to recover its “natural and historic role” as a “truly global Britain” by delivering on the Brexit vote he did so much to ensure three years earlier. On top of this, he promised more police on the streets, more hospitals, a plan for social care, levelling up all parts of the UK and a stronger union between the “awesome foursome” of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Despite this inclusive tone, Johnson immediately took a knife to the cabinet inherited from May, forging a new government leaning heavily to the Eurosceptic right. Vote Leave supremo Dominic Cummings was brought to the centre of power as the PM’s top adviser amid a phalanx of veterans of the referendum battle in No 10. Cummings set the course for a campaign of outright confrontation with Brussels, with parliament and moderate members of Johnson’s own party, using the threat of a no-deal Brexit to try to force agreement by the PM’s self-imposed deadline of 31 October.

Without a majority in the Commons, and with more than half of MPs firmly opposed to no-deal Brexit, Johnson caused uproar by asking the Queen to prorogue parliament, preventing MPs from returning to Westminster to block his plans. In an unprecedented ruling, the Supreme Court found on 24 September 2019 that the prorogation was illegal, making Johnson the first serving PM found by a court to have broken the law and exposing him to accusations of lying to the Queen. MPs passed a law forbidding the PM from taking the UK out of the EU without a deal, leading Johnson into an abortive attempt to call an election.

In a move to purge Tory ranks of Europhile voices, he expelled 21 rebel MPs – including big beasts like Kenneth Clarke, Philip Hammond and Amber Rudd – and declared that all future election candidates must be signed up to Brexit. Despite saying he would “die in a ditch” rather than extend negotiations, he eventually accepted a delay. And he finally secured his deal, after last-ditch talks with Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at a hotel in the Wirral, by caving into Brussels over a customs border in the Irish Sea – something he had said he would never accept.

The adoption of the Northern Ireland protocol allowed Johnson to call a snap election in December 2019 on the platform of an “oven-ready deal” to get Brexit done, but he later turned against it, threatening legislation to overrule it at the risk of a trade war with the EU. He was in his element in a campaign which was heavy on stunts – with Johnson driving a bulldozer through a wall symbolising the Brexit “gridlock” – but light on submission to media scrutiny, as he dodged heavyweight interviewer Andrew Neil, and at one point hid in a fridge to avoid a TV reporter’s questions.

Aided by the growing unpopularity of Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, he secured a landslide 80-seat majority in the Tories’ best result since 1987. His personal charisma seemed to have transformed the UK’s political landscape, with the decades-old Labour allegiance of “Red Wall” seats like Redcar, Bolsover and Sedgefield melting away. Victory allowed him to brush aside all opposition to Brexit, which formally took effect on 31 January 2020, hailed by Johnson as “the dawning of a new era” and sealing his legacy in the history books – for good or for ill.

It was followed a year later by a trade deal with the EU, again secured by a last-minute cave-in to Brussels demands (this time on fisheries). Its terms were so unfavourable to the UK that the government has not yet been able to implement them in full, allowing European companies an automatic advantage over UK exporters in cross-Channel trade.

Meanwhile, Liz Truss toured the world, signing dozens of trade deals which did no more than replicate terms already enjoyed as a member of the EU. The few new deals she sealed were worth, by the government’s own estimation, only a tiny fraction of the 4 per cent hit to GDP from Brexit, and have caused consternation to farmers fearful of being undercut by cheap Australian and New Zealand produce.

The prime minister’s “world king” phase reached its pinnacle three days after the date of Brexit with a speech in Greenwich in which he evoked the spirit of the seafaring 18th-century builders of empire to declare Britain the “supercharged champion” of international trade. Viewed from today, with British exporters mired in new red tape, queues at the ports and trade with Europe slumping, the speech appears dripping with hubris. All the more so because the date of Brexit coincided exactly with the arrival in the UK of the other issue set to define his premiership – Covid-19 .

The prime minister’s ‘world king’ phase reached its pinnacle three days after the date of Brexit

At Greenwich, Johnson breezily declared that while others may panic, the UK would “take off its Clark Kent spectacles and leap into the phone booth and emerge with its cloak flowing” to resist limits to its freedom in response to the novel coronavirus. And this insouciance continued even as it became chillingly clear that the threat of worldwide lethal pandemic was all too real.

With images flooding in of Covid patients struggling for breath in Italian hospital corridors, the PM airily boasted of shaking hands on the wards and refused to shut down “superspreader” events like the Cheltenham Festival. Cummings has claimed that it took an intervention by officials terrified by data suggesting the NHS would soon be overwhelmed to persuade Johnson to shift from a “herd immunity” strategy.

By the time the first national lockdown was announced on 23 March 2020 – several weeks too late, as many experts believe – Covid was in all corners of the UK and the public was already voluntarily isolating themselves, staying away from crowded places and taking children out of school. Throughout lockdown, it was clear that the PM felt deeply uncomfortable to be responsible for the most draconian restrictions on personal liberty ever inflicted in the UK outside wartime. Flanked by the grim and determined faces of medical and scientific advisers Chris Whitty and Patrick Vallance in daily televised press conferences, he appeared visibly to be suppressing his natural ebullience, which spilled forth in predictions that Britain could “turn the tide” on Covid in just 12 weeks.

It was his own brush with death which drove home to him how serious the situation actually was, as he contracted Covid on 27 March and spent three days in intensive care as NHS staff fought for his life. Any sympathy for the PM evaporated as it emerged that Cummings too had caught the disease and responded by driving his family across the country to County Durham in defiance of stay-at-home restrictions. Johnson’s refusal to sack his adviser, who faced ridicule as he claimed to have visited beauty-spot Castle Barnard “to test his eyesight”, undermined public confidence in official instructions.

During all this, Johnson’s partner Carrie gave birth to their first child together, Wilfred, believed to be the PM’s sixth from a series of relationships. The couple later married in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in May 2021 and had a second baby, Romy, in December.

Personality clashes between Carrie and Cummings were blamed for the dramatic resignation of the PM’s right-hand man in November 2020. His departure did little to allay Tory MPs’ concerns about chaotic operations at No 10, and the former adviser went on to lambast Johnson as “the trolley” in a series of lacerating statements depicting a directionless prime minister veering from policy to policy under the influence of whoever he had last spoken to. Cummings told MPs he had heard the PM say he would rather see “bodies pile high” than go into a third lockdown in late 2020 – something which Johnson flatly denied.

Relief came with the release of vaccines against Covid-19, rushed into deployment by a taskforce led by Kate Bingham, with the world’s first shot of the Pfizer jab received by 90-year-old Margaret Keenan in Coventry on 8 December 2020. But successive waves of Covid saw restrictions maintained until 19 July 2021. “Freedom day” was a muted affair, with case numbers still high, and there was bitter debate within cabinet before Mr Johnson confirmed there would be no Christmas lockdown that winter.

The PM tried to establish his credentials as a world statesman, hosting the G7 in Cornwall and throwing his weight behind calls for net-zero carbon emissions at the Cop26 summit in Glasgow in November 2021. But high hopes from the environmental gathering were undermined by a last-minute ambush by China and India to water down the phase-out of coal, leaving chair Alok Sharma in tears.

The nation was still emerging from the privations of pandemic and working out how to pay off the £400bn bill for furlough and other support schemes when another crisis exploded onto the world stage, as Vladimir Putin sent the Russian army into Ukraine. Despite having overseen a defence and security review which focused on cyber-security and terrorism, and despite having told MPs in November that “big tank battles on European land mass are over”, Mr Johnson was swift to recognise the need to supply Kyiv with heavy weaponry to resist its belligerent neighbour. But even as he burnished his Churchillian self-image with a series of visits to president Volodymyr Zelensky, the seeds of his downfall were being sown with a wave of revelations of parties and social gatherings at Downing Street during lockdown.

Public anger was fuelled further by Johnson’s insistence that no social distancing rules were broken. Those claims are now subject to a probe into whether he misled parliament which could set the seal on his battered reputation. Doubts over his integrity had already been sown by the Wallpapergate row over the lavish refurbishment of his Downing Street flat, his attempt to save pal Owen Paterson from punishment for sleaze and the resignation of an ethics adviser after the PM overruled his bullying finding against Priti Patel. A second standards adviser, Lord Geidt, quit in June in protest at the government’s willingness to break international law.

As Johnson was fined by police and forced to apologise, his MPs – panicked by seismic by-election revolts in formerly “true blue” Shropshire North and Tiverton & Honiton – queued up to submit letters of no confidence. He survived a vote in June, but 148 of his MPs (more than 40 per cent of the total) backed the effort to remove him.

And his fate was sealed just a month later, when the resignations of Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak prompted a slew of ministers to walk out. The final straw was Johnson’s denials – which he ordered ministers to repeat on air but were later proved untrue – that he had known of concerns over the conduct of Christopher Pincher before the deputy chief whip quit.

Contrary to fears that he would use his remaining weeks in office to cause “carnage”, Johnson seemed to view his ejection as an excuse to put his government into “zombie” mode and go on holiday. Despite efforts to bolster his legacy with announcements on nuclear power, broadband and submarines in his final week, the image of the PM on the beach during a cost-of-living crisis is more likely to stay in the public mind.

He leaves office with Britain facing deep recession, families fearing destitution and thousands of businesses on the brink of closure due to sky-high energy bills. His levelling up plans seem little more than a slogan after the cancellation of key rail links in the North, his promised 40 new hospitals – most actually refurbishments or new wings – are mostly unbuilt, and the future of his net zero plans look in doubt under his likely successor.

He will be remembered for delivering Brexit, but that may come to be seen increasingly to be a black mark on his record if the promised benefits fail to materialise. If he’s lucky, he’ll be remembered more for vaccinating the nation against Covid than for exposing thousands to the disease through delay. It all seems a far cry from the heroic visions and optimistic bluster which propelled him to power in the first place.

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