Iron Man Boris: I'll Unleash The Spirit Of Britain

PM Pledges to reshape the nation in wake of brexit and covid

- Macer Hall , Sam Lister and Martyn Brown

Boris Johnson invoked his political heroes of the past as he vowed to unleash the “unique spirit of Britain” to deliver opportunity for all.

In a barnstorming Tory conference speech citing Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister set his sights on driving up skills and productivity to build a high-wage, low-tax future with prosperity and jobs spread more equally around UK regions.

He admitted overhauling an economy dogged by inadequate investment and over reliant on cheap labour from overseas will be “difficult” while insisting that it was what the British people had voted for in the 2016 EU referendum and 2019 general election.

“I believe that through history and accident this country has a unique spirit, the spirit of the NHS nurses and the entrepreneurs,” he told the Tory faithful at the Manchester convention centre in their first in-person conference since the pandemic.

The PM said to take on the challenges, the UK needs the will to win shown by England footballers, by the British Olympians and Paralympians plus “the indomitable spirit” of tennis champ Emma Raducanu, mentioning “her grace and her mental resilience when the game was going against her”.

Britain’s spirit was “the same across this country in every town and village and city that can be found in the hearts and minds of kids growing up everywhere and that is the spirit we are going to unleash,” he said.

Mr Johnson took on Tory critics who claim he is abandoning Conservatism and lurching towards Labour-style tax and spending.