Boris Johnson lifts Tory spirits as he insists Britain can 'win the future' in rousing conference speech
2 min read
Boris Johnson finally lifted Conservative spirits today with a rousing speech in which he blasted the Labour party and said Britain was well placed to “win the future”.
The Foreign Secretary said there was “no country better placed than Britain” to “be bold and seize the opportunities” after Brexit.
And he warned against the “economic masochism” offered by Labour under Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.
His speech was punctuated with laughs from the crowd and received an extended standing ovation at the end - a response other Cabinet ministers have been denied.
After rampant speculation that he would use his Conservative conference platform to make a leadership pitch to the party faithful, Mr Johnson offered an address loyal to Theresa May.
He praised her for winning the Tories their highest vote share for 25 years and said “the whole country owes her a debt for her steadfastness” as she navigates Britain through Brexit.
The Foreign Secretary declared: “We can win the future because we are the party that believes in this country and we believe in the potential of the British people.
“We have been privileged collectively to be placed in charge of this amazing country at a critical moment in our history.”
On the subject of Labour Mr Johnson said socialist ideals from the 1970s were “back from the grave; it’s zombie fingers straining for the levers of power”.
He added: “There is not a single successful global economy that would dream of implementing the semi-Marxist agenda of McDonnell and Corbyn of nationalisation and state control.”
The top Tory echoed his colleagues in launching a staunch defence of market capitalism, arguing it had “helped lift more people out of poverty than ever in history”.
And on Brexit he said: “It is time to stop treating the referendum result as though it were a plague of boils or a murrain on our cattle or an inexplicable aberration by 17.4 m people.
“It is time to be bold, and to seize the opportunities and there is no country better placed than Britain.”
Mr Johnson has spent weeks undermining the Prime Minister on Brexit and other domestic issues, which angry colleagues have labelled a pitch for the Tory leadership.
This morning Mrs May sought to play down the row by insisting she did not want a Cabinet "full of yes men" - although she refused to say clearly whether Mr Johnson was "unsackable".
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