Says he thought he had it tough over Covid… until he spoke to his opposite number in Ukraine who had to find safe passage for millions of vulnerable citizens out of his country.
Says how incredibly lucky we are to be in this country. Secure both economically and militarily.
Says though that this success is not a given. Only countries that can reinvent themselves succeed. And one key ingredient: infrastructure.
“If there’s one thing I really hate is declinism… That Britain is inevitably slowly dropping down the league tables… Sorry but I do not believe that is our future and I know you don’t too.”
Shapps says he believes we can be the biggest economy in Europe in next decades.
Big applause for Shapps condemning “insensitive and brutal” treatment of P&O employees.
Shapps: the UK is now the most restriction free major economy in the entire world.
Shapps: “The biggest investment since the railway mania of the Victorians is here today”
Says Labour condemning £96bn spend as “crumbs” is unbelievable.
“I’m a bit of a geek”
Says he was delighted by his robotic mini lawnmower.
And bought an electric car before it was cool.
Says electric cars are real sovereignty as cost does not rely on oil from dictatorships abroad.
“I hated that thing, I hated it”
Shapps says of the passenger locator form - the state asking where you live, where you were going. As of 4am this morning the PLF is history.
“We’re turning the page on that dark chapter once and for all.”
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PM: “We stand with the Ukrainian people and our hearts go out to them. And tens of thousands of people in this country are opening their homes to the Ukrainian people, and we say thank you to them.”
Boris describes Putin’s ahistorical rant as “Nostradamus meets Russian Wikipedia”
Says Putin wanted to go into Ukraine because they had a free press and he saw that as a threat.
Boris: Putin feared a free and prosperous Ukraine would inspire a so called colour revolution in Moscow.
“That’s why he is so desperate to snuff out the flame of freedom in Ukraine”
It might well be the case that more people sign up to host Ukrainian refugees than actually want to come all the way to the U.K.
Perhaps excess hosts could be offered refugee families from other countries, and we could potentially stop splashing so much taxpayer cash on hotels.
👆Number 10 says "we are at relatively early stages... certainly we will absolutely keep that under review, about how we make best use of the generosity of the British public."
"By simply asking those who register for the Ukraine scheme if they are also interested in hosting other groups, the government could speed up its efforts to offer a warm welcome to Afghans too."
EXCLUSIVE: Today I unearthed past comments of Paulette Hamilton - the frontrunner to become the next MP for Birmingham Erdington in tomorrow's by-election.
Speaking at a panel event in 2015 entitled "The Ballot or the Bullet: Does Your Vote Count", Hamilton expressed views that appear to suggest she is ‘torn’ between the democratic system and what she calls ‘an uprising’.
At the same event - a year after the so-called Trojan Horse scandal broke - Hamilton also spoke about infiltration, of taking over governorships, changing headteachers, and inserting their religio-political views into those schools that they took over.
After a lot of muddled communication it turns out the Met now say they do have to go through the Gray report to make sure publication would does not interfere with their work.
Which means the Met is going through the report with a fine tooth comb, potentially taking bits out *before the report is then sent on to Downing Street*.
No10 maintain they will try to publish what they are given in full, but what they are given may not be the full thing.
And when No10 receives the report, they will go though it to perhaps anonymise names of jnr civil servants etc, and then liaise with the Speaker of the Commons as to when it can be published.
Likely to fit a Parliamentary sitting day to allow for adequate Commons scrutiny.