Johnson’s speech

Under "Levelling UP" the conclusion is:

In the only policy announcement in the speech, the PM also announced a “levelling-up premium” worth up to £3,000 to encourage science and maths teachers to head to different areas of the country.

The prime minister attempting to paint his landmark policy as an effort “take the pressure off parts of the South East while offering hope and opportunity to areas that have felt left behind”, said Sky News.

But writing in The Guardian yesterday, Labour Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham attacked Johnson for failing to “make ‘levelling up’ mean something”, a complaint unlikely to have been resolved by this speech.

Ladyleftfieldlover

How long have the Tories been in power? Over a decade I think. So where have they been going wrong and what happened to their previous promises given at various conferences and hustings?

You have to understand that Johnson had nothing at all to do with those previous tory governments. Despite being an MP since 2015, and Foreign Secretary in May's government, he loathed every minute of their destructive rule and couldn't wait to wrest power from them so that he could implement his liberal, caring and far seeing ideas about how the country should be run.

(Am I doing this right?
When Priti Patel's thought police come searching GNet for signs of dissenters from worship of Our Glorious Leader, will I slip through their net?)

Under the second heading "NHS and Social Care" it concludes:

His comments on tax rises were met with “stony silence”, according to The Telegraph. But his statement immediately afterwards that “Margaret Thatcher would not ignore the meteorite that has crashed through our economy” was “met with nods of approval”, the paper added.

(Could someone tell me exactly what meteorite he is refering to - I'm assuming Covid - to and why and in what way Margaret Thatcher, long dead, would be concerned?)

Reading the first of JaneJudge's links. This link is to the Economist's view of the speech. Under the summary heading of "Economics" it concludes:

The problem for the prime minister is that “for many people life feels a bit uncertain”, said the BBC’s Eardley, with “fears in the Conservative Party too about the cost of living over winter” clashing with his economic optimism.

“While Johnson sells his economic plan for the future, many will want assurances about the next few weeks and months,” he added.

JaneJudge

I have just been reading this

and this

But I really do need to start cleaning/organising my kitchen today

Your first link didn't work, JJ

How long have the Tories been in power? Over a decade I think. So where have they been going wrong and what happened to their previous promises given at various conferences and hustings?

I have just been reading this

and this

But I really do need to start cleaning/organising my kitchen today

I’ve had a light bulb moment.!

Johnson’s plan is that people should work harder, in fact as hard as he does.

Johnson has an economic plan? Pity he didn’t spell it out.

I think the problem really is that they simply don’t understand Johnson economics and his grand plan.

Businesses have a huge amount on their plates from the affects of covid and the collapse in trade to the EU. To ask them to now invest to increase productivity is an almost impossible task at this point.

Businesses just have to work a bit harder, don't they?

After all, isn't collapse in trade with the EU a direct result of them not preparing well enough to work with the worldbeating last minute deal with the EU (the TCA)? And of them utterly failing to take advantage of the splendid opportunities offered by making it difficult, or impossible, to trade with a huge market sitting on their doorstep?