Brushing off multiple crises, Boris Johnson vows to reshape Britain
- Addressing the Conservative Party conference, the prime minister pledged to ‘level up’ the UK to tackle regional inequality
- He also called on businesses to do more to lift wages and attract more workers
After a week when Johnson has been forced to defend his government against complaints over fuel shortages, fears for Christmas food supplies and farmers having to destroy their produce, the prime minister wants to reset his agenda.
“The answer to the present stresses and strains, which are mainly a function of growth and economic revival, is not to reach for that same old lever of uncontrolled immigration to keep wages low,” he told an appreciative crowd.
“The answer is to control immigration to allow people of talent to come to this country, but not to use immigration as an excuse for failure to invest in people in skills, and in the equipment, the facilities and machinery … they need to do their jobs.”
“To deliver that change we will get on with our job of uniting and levelling up across the UK – the greatest project that any government can embark on.”
