Boris Johnson makes first speech as UK's new Prime Minister
Mr Johnson made his first speech as PM outside No. 10 Downing Street
Last updated 24th Jul 2019
Boris Johnson has officially taken over from Theresa May as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Mr Johnson used his first speech as PM outside No. 10 Downing Street to reaffirm his pledge to take the UK out of the European Union on October 31st 2019.
The new PM took aim at what he called "the doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters" for saying that it could not be done and vowed to prove them wrong.
In his speech, Mr Johnson also made wide-ranging commitments including to reform social care for the elderly, increase police numbers, improve infrastructure and provide more funding to the NHS.
Mrs May's successor ended by pledging to waste no time in getting to work. He said:
"We in this government will work flat out to give this country the leadership it deserves and that work starts now."
However, in Scotland the speech was not well received by the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon who tweeted:
"Behind all the ‘make Britain great again’ type rhetoric, that speech was rambling, blame-shifting and, to put it mildly, somewhat divorced from reality. #newPM"
The Scottish Conservatives voiced their support on social media though, saying he represented firm opposition to Ms Sturgeon by pushing back against a further Scottish Independence referendum. They said:
"Boris Johnson is steadfast in his commitment to the Union and will continue to stand up to the SNP's predictable calls for another independence referendum."
Mr Johnson is yet to announce who will make up his cabinet however he is expected to begin the shake-up evening by confirming his first senior appointments.
Earlier the Queen met with Mr Johnson at Buckingham Palace to formally request that he form a new government, which he accepted.
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