Boris Johnson has delivered his resignation speech on the steps of 10 Downing Street.
The Prime Minister said: “I want you to know how sad I am to be giving up the best job in the world – but them’s the breaks.”
He also assured people that ‘our future together is golden’.
While delivering his speech, nearby protesters blasted Bye Bye Baby by the Bay City Rollers.
There were loud boos and jeers when Mr Johnson mentioned the NHS.
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PM Boris Johnson delivering his resignation speech today. Credit: Sky News
He said that he was ‘immensely proud of the achievements of this government’, referring to Brexit, the war in Ukraine, and the pandemic.
It’s not yet known when he will officially leave Downing Street, as the process begins to appoint a new leader.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCklg0Flsr8
The PM had faced increasing pressure to step down from his position in recent weeks amid several scandals, from Partygate to Pincher.
A slew of resignations from across government have flooded in this week, with 59 MPs quitting in the last two days, including his trusted Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Boris Johnson’s resignation speech in full
“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 PM and I’ve agreed with SIr Graham Brady, the chairman of our backbench MPs that process of choosing that leader should begin now. The timetable will announced next week. I have today appointed a cabinet to serve, as I will, until a new leader is in place.
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“I want to say to the millions of people who voted for us in 2019, many of them voting Conservative for the first time, thankyou for that incredible mandate, the biggest Conservative mandate since 1987, the biggest share of a vote since 1979.
“The reason I have fought so hard in the last few days to continue to deliver that mandate in person is not just because I wanted to do so but because I thought it was my job, my duty, my obligation to you to continue to do what we promised in 2019. Of course, I am immensely proud of our achievements in government. From getting Brexit done to settling our relations with the continent for 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 standing up to Putin’s aggression in Ukraine.
“Let me say now to the people of Ukraine, we in the UK will continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes, at the same time in this country we’ve been pushing forward a vast programme for infrastructure and skills, technology, the biggest in a century because if I have one insight into human beings it’s the genius, talent and enthusiasm and imagination are evenly distributed through the population but opportunity is not and that’s why we must keep levelling up, keep unleashing the potential of every part of the UK. If we can do that we will be the most prosperous in Europe.
Boris Johnson has delivered his resignation speech
“I have been trying to tell my colleagues it would be eccentric to change governments when we’re delivering so much and have such a vast mandate and actually only a handful of points behind in the polls when we’re midterm and after quite a few months of relentless sledging and when the economic scene is so difficult domestically and internationally. I regret not being successful in those arguments and of course it’s painful not to see through so many ideas and projects myself.
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“As we’ve seen at Westminster the herd instinct is powerful and when the herd moves, it moves. My friends in politics, no-one is remotely indispensable. Our brilliant and Darwinian system will produce another leader equally committed to taking us through tough times not just helping families to get through it but changing and improving the way we do things, cutting the burdens on businesses and yes, cutting taxes because that’s the way to generate the growth and income we need to pay for great public services.
“To that new leader, whoever he or she may be, I say that I will give you as much support as I can. To you, the British public, I know there will be many people who will be relieved and quite a few disappointed, 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, 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 fearless British civil service for all the help and support you’ve given our police and our NHS who at critical moments helped to extend my own period in office as well as our armed services and our agencies that I so admire around the world and our Conservative members and supporters whose selfless campaigners makes our democracy possible.
“I want to thank the wonderful staff here at Number 10 and Chequers and our prop force detectives, the one group who never level. Above all, I want to thank you, the British public for the immense privilege you have given me. 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’ve travelled to every part of the UK and in addition to the beauty of our natural world I’ve found so many people possessed of such boundless British originality and so willing to tackle old problems in new ways, even if things can sometimes seem dark now our future together is golden. Thankyou very much.”
Featured image: Sky News
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Two Trafford towns are set to see dozens of new EV charging points installed imminently
Danny Jones
Two big towns on the border of Greater Manchester and Cheshire are set to see a fresh batch of electric vehicle (EV) charging points installed throughout their streets by Trafford Council very soon.
Local authorities have teamed up with engineering and infrastructure company Amey to roll out a series of new EV charging stations across Trafford, starting with Altrincham and Hale.
Dating all the way back to 2020, the collaboration with Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), the brand was tasked with helping improve sustainable travel across the area as the government body’s electric vehicle charging suppliers.
Steady improvements have been made across the 10 boroughs, but this particular update marks one of the biggest network upgrades that the likes of Alty and Hale have seen for some time.
Good news – we are thrilled to announce the installation of our first public EV charge points in collaboration with @TraffordCouncil.
Issuing a statement on Wednesday, 17 September, the firm – which specialises in managing, designing and maintaining complex facilities and transport infrastructure across the country – announced that they will “start the installation of EV charging points in Trafford in the coming weeks.”
It is expected that “up to 100 new public charges” will be integrated throughout the respective town centres and residential streets as the suburbs continues to push towards its sustainability goals.
As per Altrincham Today, Amey account director Anna Gornall said: “We’re excited to launch our first EV charge points in Trafford, working in partnership with Trafford Council (TC) to make electric vehicle charging more accessible to local communities.
“As the UK’s leading provider of energy transition and decarbonisation solutions, we’re well placed to use our existing expertise and resources to support TC in delivering a holistic public EV charging network for local communities.
“We’re helping residents make the switch, so everyone can plug in and power a greener Trafford.”
The country at large has various carbon-free initiatives, including the aspiration of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050; the electoral ward of Trafford itself continues to thrive in this field, having recently won environmental accolades, including 12 ‘Green Flag Awards’ this past July.
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Peter Anderson, Managing Director of Transport Infrastructure at Amey, commented: “This is a pivotal moment in Amey’s energy transition strategy. By leveraging our extensive experience in whole lifecycle asset management, strong partnerships, and innovative solutions, we can deliver value for both our clients and members of the public who will use Amey’s electric vehicle charge points.
“Working with Trafford Council, we are making electric vehicle charging more accessible to local communities and helping residents make the switch to EVs.
“Amey is well-positioned to support emerging opportunities within this landscape, and we are delighted to be working with Trafford and other local authorities to provide the public EV infrastructure needed to achieve the government’s transition to net zero.”
As for Trafford Council, Corporate Director of Place, Richard Roe, went on to add: “We are delighted to be working with Amey on this project to bring more and better charging options to the people of Trafford.
“This is an extension to the current EV charging options in the borough and is great news for committed EV owners and those who are thinking about going electric.”
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (via Amey Ltd)
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Further disruption expected as more bus strikes announced across Greater Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Further disruption is expected as even more bus strikes have been announced across Greater Manchester this autumn.
It comes after the strikes set to place this month from 19 to 22 September were announced a couple of weeks back, and now a second round will take place towards the end of this month and going into early October.
In case this is the first you’re hearing of the upcoming industrial action, 2,000 workers who are employed by Stagecoach, Metroline Manchester, and First Bus Rochdale – all of which are firms among those that make up the bus part of the Bee Network – are due to walk out in a co-ordinated strike amid an ongoing pay dispute.
Unite the Union says all the firms are ‘highly profitable’ and it’s therefore ‘disappointing’ that workers are being denied a fair wage.
More strikes have been announced on the Bee Network this month / Credit: TfGM
At Stagecoach, around 1,000 drivers based across the Oldham, Stockport, and Middleton depots have rejected a pay offer of 3.5%, and 1,000 Metroline Manchester members will also do the same after turning down an ‘unsatisfactory’ below-inflation pay offer.
Workers at both Metroline and Stagecoach believe the offer doesn’t address years of low pay they’ve recieved, especially given the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Then, over at First Bus Rochdale, 110 members have rejected this year’s pay offer of 6%, as they feel this does not go far enough to address the fact they’ve had years of being paid less than their counterparts at other companies, and are still the lowest paid in the region.
Stagecoach, Metroline, and First Bus Rochdale, part of First Group PLC, are all firms which have seen a rise in profits in recent years.
2,000 drivers are set to stage strike action over two different periods / Credit: TfGM
The second round of strikes will now take place from from 30 September to 2 October.
Speaking ahead of both sets of upcoming strikes, Unite General Secretary, Sharon Graham, said: “These companies are very profitable but are putting greed over their hardworking members of staff.
“Further strike action will be extremely disruptive, however this is a dispute entirely of the bus companies’ making and they could solve it easily by coming back with a better deal.
“Our members involved in the dispute have Unite’s complete support.”
Unite Regional Officer, Colin Hayden, added: “The strikes this week as well as the further action we have called will cause travel chaos in Greater Manchester. However, it is entirely the fault of the employers involved, who have failed to address the issue of low pay and reward their staff accordingly.
Daisy Jackson -
7th July 2022 
