Boris Johnson has pledged his “fervent support” to successor Liz Truss as he prepares to take over as Prime Minister and present a plan to tackle the British energy crisis.
In his farewell address in no. 10, the outgoing Prime Minister said the administration of his successor will do “everything possible” to help those facing the cost of living crisis.
Truss, who will travel to Balmoral to accept the role of Prime Minister from the Queen later Tuesday, is expected to come up with plans for a bill freeze that could cost around STG 100 billion (AU $ 170 billion).
The prime minister said Vladimir Putin was “completely deluded” if he thought he could succeed by “blackmailing and forcing” the British public to limit gas supplies, driving up global prices.
Johnson said: “We have and will continue to have this economic strength to give people the money they need to overcome this energy crisis caused by Putin’s fierce war.
“I know that Liz Truss and this compassionate conservative government will do everything in their power to help people overcome this crisis and this country will endure it and we will win.”
Truss won the competition to succeed Johnson as leader of the Tories on Monday and will be addressing the nation from Downing Street later today as Prime Minister, though the storms forecast for Westminster mean he may have to do so from inside number 10.
A quiet morning in Westminster saw Johnson, watched by his wife Carrie and supporting MPs including Nadine Dorries and Jacob Rees-Mogg, deliver his farewell speech from a podium outside the black door of No. 10.
As a sign of persistent resentment at the way he was deported, Johnson said “the baton will be put back in what unexpectedly turned out to be a relay race, they changed the rules in half, but too bad now.” .
He said his career now resembled a booster rocket “that has served its purpose and will now gently re-enter the atmosphere and crash invisibly into a remote, dark corner of the Pacific.”
Johnson said, “I will offer this government nothing but my strongest support,” calling on the Tories to join behind the new leader in a “difficult time for the economy.”
“I tell my fellow Conservatives, it’s time for politics to end, folks,” he said.
“The time has come for all of us to support Liz Truss and her team, and her program, and to do things for the people of this country.
“Because that’s what the people of this country want. This is what they need.
“And that’s what they deserve.”
He added that if Dilyn the Johnson’s dog and Larry the No. 10 “they can leave their occasional struggles behind, then so can the Conservative Party.”