London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Sep 01, 2025

Conservative conference: We have the guts to change the UK, says Johnson

Conservative conference: We have the guts to change the UK, says Johnson

Boris Johnson is to promise that his government will show more "guts" than any before as it works to deal with issues facing society and the economy.

In his Conservative Party conference speech, the prime minister will pledge to move the entire UK towards high-wage, high-skill employment.

And he will accuse previous Labour and Tory governments of "delay and dither".

The prime minister's speech is his first to the massed Conservative faithful since before the pandemic.

This week's conference in Manchester has taken place amid concerns over rising inflation, supply chain problems, and petrol and worker shortages.

But on Tuesday the prime minister told the BBC he was "not worried" about current problems, arguing that the economy was under short-term stress as it recovered from the worst of Covid.

He will use his speech to proclaim an optimistic, combative message to Conservatives, and the wider electorate.
"After decades of drift and dither this reforming government, this can-do government that got Brexit done, is getting the vaccine rollout done and is going to get social care done," he will say.

"We are dealing with the biggest underlying issues of our economy and society, the problems that no government has had the guts to tackle before."

Mr Johnson's conference speech last year was viewed only online because of Covid restrictions.

This year's comes on the same day that the government officially ends the £20-a-week universal credit uplift brought in to help low-income households during the pandemic.

And it follows the announcement last month of an extra tax to fund social care and the NHS in England, which has prompted anger among some Conservative MPs.


There are some underlying tensions between what's going on in this conference and what's happening in parts of the country.

Boris Johnson is trying to sell a new economic vision - his post-Brexit realignment.

Gone, the PM says, is mass immigration, to be replaced with higher wages and better conditions to encourage people into key sectors.

What's happening just now, says Mr Johnson, is stresses and strains after the pandemic.

But for many people life feels a bit uncertain. Costs are rising. Inflation is a worry. Universal credit is being reduced for millions.

There are fears in the Conservative Party too about the cost of living over winter.

So while Mr Johnson sells his economic plan for the future, many will want assurances about the next few weeks and months.

When he addresses the Manchester conference, the prime minister will restate his commitment to "level up" all areas of the UK - a pledge credited with helping his party take many previously Labour-held seats in northern England and the Midlands at the 2019 general election.

He will say the country is moving "towards a high-wage, high-skill, high-productivity economy", in which "everyone can take pride in their work and the quality of their work".

Mr Johnson will say "talent, genius, flair, imagination, enthusiasm" are "evenly distributed around this country", adding: "There is no reason why the inhabitants of one part of the country should be geographically fated to be poorer than others, or why people should feel they have to move away from their loved ones, or communities to reach their potential."

This, he will argue, will take "pressure off parts of the overheating South East, while simultaneously offering hope and opportunity to those areas that have felt left behind".

'New model'


Some Conservative supporters have raised concerns that the party might be regarded as neglecting its traditional heartlands in favour of its newly conquered former Labour seats.

The loss of the previously true-blue constituency of Chesham and Amersham, Buckinghamshire, to the Liberal Democrats in a by-election in June added to those worries.

But Mr Johnson will argue that altering society in the wake of Brexit will benefit the whole UK.

"We are not going back to the same old broken model with low wages, low growth, low skills and low productivity, all of it enabled and assisted by uncontrolled immigration," he will say.

Instead of using migrant labour to keep wages down, he will say, the system must work 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 or machinery they need to do their jobs".

On Sunday the government announced that 300 temporary visas would be issued to overseas lorry drivers to ease fuel shortages.

Some 4,700 visas intended for foreign food haulage drivers are being extended, as well as 5,500 for foreign poultry workers.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
Federal Reserve Independence Questioned Amid Trump’s Push to Reshape Central Bank
British Politics Faces Tumultuous Autumn After Summer of Rebellions and Rising Farage Momentum
US Appeals Court Rules Against Most Trump-Era Tariffs
UK Sought Broad Access to Apple Users’ Data, Court Filing Reveals
UK Bank Shares Dive Over Potential Tax on Sector
Germany’s Auto Industry Sheds 51,500 Jobs in First Half of 2025 Amid Deepening Crisis
Bruce Willis Relocated Due to Advanced Dementia
French and Korean Nuclear Majors Clash As EU Launches Foreign Subsidy Probe
EU Stands Firm on Digital Rules as Trump Warns of Retaliation
Getting Ready for the 3rd Time in Its History, Germany Approves Voluntary Military Service for Teenagers
Argentine President Javier Milei Evacuated After Stones Thrown During Campaign Event
Denmark Confronts U.S. Diplomat Over Covert Trump-Linked Influence in Greenland
Starmer Should Back Away from ECHR, Says Jack Straw
Trump Demands RICO Charges Against George Soros and Son for Funding Violent Protests
Taylor Swift Announces Engagement to NFL Star Travis Kelce
France May Need IMF Bailout, Warns Finance Minister
Chinese AI Chipmaker Cambricon Posts Record Profit as Beijing Pushes Pivot from Nvidia
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
Ukraine Finally Allows Young Men Aged Eighteen to Twenty-Two to Leave the Country
The Porn Remains, Privacy Disappears: How Britain Broke the Internet in Ten Days
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Welcome to The Definition of Insanity: Germany Edition
Just a reminder, this is Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.
Spotify’s Strange Move: The Feature Nobody Asked For – Returns
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
×