‘Bright future’ for Cornwall says PM

19/01/2021. London, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson virtually chairs the weekly Cabinet Meeting and uses a G7 mug. 10 Downing Street. Picture by Pippa Fowles / No 10 Downing Street

South West “can look forward to a? brighter future”, says Boris Johnson

We can “look forward to a brighter future” once the pandemic is over, Boris Johnson told the annual South West Conservative Conference at the weekend.

Mr Johnson said: “As our vaccine programme is rolled out across the country, and we see many thousands of people vaccinated each day, I am confident we can look forward to a brighter future.”

The PM said the Conservatives were pushing on with their headline manifesto commitments to boost the NHS, police and schools.

He said 11 of the 40 new hospitals promised will be in “the South West”, while over 400 extra police officers have already been recruited in the region.

With Carbis Bay to host the G7 Summit in June, there is even more to look forward to said the PM.

“Cornwall is the perfect location for such a crucial summit,” said Mr Johnson, who was brought up on Exmoor and whose father, Stanley Johnson, was born in Penzance. When announcing the G7, the PM said his choice was partly down to his “pride in being probably the first half Cornish Prime Minister”.

“I’m very much looking forward to welcoming world leaders to this great region and country.” he told the conference.

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The online Conference was attended by over 400 party representatives, including MPs, councillors, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) and local election candidates, officers and members.

Cabinet members Dominic Raab (Foreign Secretary) and George Eustice (Environment Secretary and MP for Camborne and Redruth) were among the keynote speakers.

Richard Pears, Cornwall councillor for Mount Charles and Cornwall area chairman for the Conservative Party

Extracts form Boris Johnson’s Speech

“We are embarking on the biggest hospital building programme in a generation. In the next 10 years we will build 40 new hospitals and upgrade 20 more.

“We are constructing a new cancer hospital in Bath and a new women and children’s hospital in Truro.

We’re building a new integrated emergency care hospital at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth as well as rebuilding Christchurch Community Hospital in Dorset.

“This is alongside delivering the NHS’s biggest cash boost in history, investing almost £34billion in frontline NHS services every year by 2024.

“We’re on track to recruit the 50,000 more nurses we promised – and we have already recruited more than 14,000.

“We’re fulfilling our manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 police officers. And latest statistics show we’ve already recruited over 6,600 police officers, with over 400 of those based in the South West.

“We’re boosting funding in our primary and secondary schools and we’ve launched the Lifetime Skills Guarantee so that people can get the skills they need at every stage of their life. “Our Levelling Up Fund, worth more than £6billion, will invest in local infrastructure and support economic recovery.

“Our Ten Point Plan to unleash a green industrial revolution will create 250,000 green jobs to deliver our Net Zero ambitions.

“Our defence budget has increased by over £24billion, the largest rise since the Cold War, ensuring we keep our nation safe from evolving international threats.

“And we got Brexit done. We have just passed the one-year anniversary of us leaving the EU on January 31, with a new trade agreement worth £660billion.

“Throughout the pandemic we have protected more than 160,000 jobs in the South West through the furlough scheme, provided more than £3.3billion in business support through both Bounce Back Loans and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and we’ve set up more than 100 local coronavirus testing sites across the South West of England.

“And thanks to the brilliance of British scientists, who have developed the world’s first room temperature vaccine that can be produced cheaply and at scale, we will get through this disease that has robbed us of so much and so many.

“As our vaccine programme is rolled out across the country, and we see many thousands of people vaccinated each day, I am confident we can look forward to a brighter future.”

Attendees from Cornwall included :

• George Eustice – Environment Secretary and MP for Camborne and Redruth
• Steve Double – MP for St Austell and Newquay
• Cherilyn Mackrory – MP for Truro and Falmouth
• Scott Mann – MP for North Cornwall
• Sheryll Murray – MP for South East Cornwall
• Linda Taylor – group leader on Cornwall Council
• Richard Pears – Cornwall councillor for Mount Charles and Cornwall area chairman for the Conservative Party
• Peter Booth – vice-president of the National Conservative Convention and former chairman of South West Conservatives, who lives on the Roseland Peninsula