The letter of resignation sent by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, to Boris Johnson, the outgoing Prime Minister, on 5 September 2022.
Tag: 2022
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Priti Patel – 2022 Letter to Sir Mark Rowley
The letter sent by Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, to Sir Mark Rowley on 5 September 2022.
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Liz Truss – 2022 Victory Acceptance Speech as Prime Minister
The acceptance speech made by Liz Truss on 5 September 2022.
Well, thank you, Sir Graham. It’s an honour to be elected as leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party.
I’d like to thank the 1922 Committee, the party chairman and the Conservative Party for organising one of the longest job interviews in history. Thank you very much.
I’d also like to thank my family, my friends, my political colleagues and all of those who helped on this campaign. I’m incredibly grateful for all of your support.
I’d like to pay tribute to my fellow candidates, particularly Rishi Sunak. It’s been a hard-fought campaign. I think we have shown the depth and breadth of talent in our Conservative Party.
I also want to thank our outgoing leader, my friend, Boris Johnson. Boris, you got Brexit done. You crushed Jeremy Corbyn. You rolled out the vaccine and you stood up to Vladimir Putin. You are admired from Kyiv to Carlisle.
Friends and colleagues, thank you for putting your faith in me to lead our great Conservative Party, the greatest political party on earth.
I know that our beliefs resonate with the British people – our beliefs in freedom, in the ability to control your own life, in low taxes, in personal responsibility, and I know that’s why people voted for us in such numbers in 2019. And as your party leader, I intend to deliver what we promised those voters right across our great country.
During this leadership campaign, I campaigned as a conservative and I will govern as a conservative. My friends, we need to show that we will deliver over the next two years. I will deliver a bold plan to cut taxes and grow our economy. I will deliver on the energy crisis, dealing with people’s energy bills, but also dealing with the long-term issues we have on energy supply.
I will deliver on the National Health Service. We will deliver for all for our country and I will make sure that we use all the fantastic talents of the Conservative Party, our brilliant Members of Parliament, and peers, our fantastic councillors, our MSs, our MSPs, all of our councillors and activists and members right across our country, because, my friends, I know that we will deliver, we will deliver and we will deliver. And we will deliver a great victory for the Conservative Party in 2024, thank you.
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PRESS RELEASE : Emergency support put in place for people fleeing Ukraine and entering the UK with their pets
The press release issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on 5 September 2022.
Streamlined system with the Government covering the costs of any necessary stays in quarantine for the pets of those fleeing Ukraine.
The Government has put in place new emergency support for those fleeing Ukraine with their pets. Using an emergency licence, people fleeing Ukraine can bring their pets to the UK with any quarantine costs met by the Government.
The Animal and Plant Health Agency is providing quick licence approvals and quarantine arrangements to avoid creating additional burdens or delays. The Government is also covering their vaccination, microchipping and quarantine costs, recognising that many individuals from Ukraine will not have been able to complete the full health preparations required for their pet on arrival.
The maximum stay in quarantine for a pet which has received no rabies vaccination is four months. Pets are considered on a case-by-case basis, with a shortened quarantine period for those that are vaccinated.
The Government has also introduced a new rabies blood test that will be able to detect existing rabies vaccinations faster. This will help in instances where refugees have travelled without vaccination paperwork.
Results can be turned around in a minimum of two days with some animals then moving to isolation if they are found to have rabies antibodies. This will help maintain our strict biosecurity measures and allow people to be reunited more quickly with their pets when possible.
We are working with vets and quarantine facilities to make sure that the arrival of Ukrainians in the UK is not delayed by the process to make arrangements for their pets.
Animal Welfare Minister Lord Goldsmith said:
“People having to flee Ukraine are in an appalling situation. I’m pleased that Ukrainian refugees will be able to bring their pets to the UK with any quarantine costs paid for by the Government.
As part of our new streamlined process, any animals which have already received some treatment may also have their stay in quarantine facilities reduced and be returned back to their owner as soon as possible.”
Before arrival, people leaving the Ukraine or their carrier should contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency at ukrainepettravel@apha.gov.uk or call +44 3000 200 301 option 2. They will then be able to confirm their approval for their emergency licence and organise any necessary stay in quarantine which is required to complete the rabies risk management process.
There is a limited amount of quarantine facilities in the UK and we will prioritise those fleeing Ukraine who wish to bring their pets with them.
The Chief Veterinary Officer previously urged rehoming charities to check online guidance and ensure rescue animals have the necessary vaccination paperwork after recent follow-up border checks by the APHA showed a shipment of 19 animals imported by a rescue charity travelled illegally on falsified rabies documentation.
Ukraine is an unlisted country regarding the movement of pets due to the confirmed presence of rabies. We have serious ongoing concerns around the onward commercial movement of animals between or from Ukraine and neighbouring countries and the health risk that presents. The UK has been rabies free for 100 years and the movement of large numbers of rescue animals who are entering Great Britain from high-risk rabies countries, without the correct health preparations, presents serious risks to biosecurity and public health. There has also been a number of serious instances of non-compliant imports, including those under falsified paperwork.
To ensure we continue to prioritise those fleeing Ukraine with their own pets, all commercial imports of dogs, cats and ferrets from Ukraine, Belarus, Poland and Romania have been temporarily suspended for a further eight weeks until 29th October 2022.
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Boris Johnson – 2022 Letter to Veterans of the UK’s Nuclear Testing Programme
The letter sent by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 5 September 2022.
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Grant Shapps – 2022 Statement on TFL Long Term Funding Settlement
The statement made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport, in the House of Commons on 5 September 2022.
Following my statement to the House on 13 July (2022), I am writing to update the House that today we have agreed a new longer-term funding settlement between Transport for London (TfL) and government. The final extraordinary funding settlement expired on 3 August and I have agreed with the Mayor of London a new settlement until 31 March 2024 or until Transport for London reaches financial sustainability, whichever is the sooner.
This longer-term settlement includes over £1.1 billion (bn) of additional grant funding until March 2024 for London transport, which will unlock almost £3.6bn worth of critical infrastructure investment, with a number of projects set to revolutionise travel across the capital.
As a result of our longer-term settlement, major upgrades will be delivered for Londoners, including new Piccadilly line trains and the modernisation of the District, Metropolitan, Hammersmith and City and Circle lines – maintaining the London Underground’s world-class status. Further benefits include: supporting the long-awaited repair of Hammersmith Bridge; vital improvement to Elephant and Castle station and a London Overground extension between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside to service more than 10,000 new homes in east London.
As part of the settlement, the Mayor will be required to continue work on the introduction of driverless trains on London Underground, in use on the Dockland Light Railway for more than 35 years. At a time when strikes are crippling both the Underground and national rail systems, never has this work been more important.
Alongside all of this is government’s continued commitment to mitigate TfL’s loss of passenger revenue from the ongoing uncertainty of demand following changes to travel patterns since the COVID-19 pandemic. None of this would have been possible without government funding.
The settlement letter requires Transport for London to modernise and control its operating costs, to make it a modern, effective, efficient and financially stable operator. It is a settlement that is fair and proportionate to London whilst also taking into account funding provided elsewhere in the country and the cost to the national taxpayer, at a time of great pressure on national finances.
It comes on top of the over £5bn of funding support the government has already provided to TfL since the beginning of the pandemic and government’s commitment to over £1 billion per year until 2025 for London transport through business rates retention.
Through all of this, government is continuing to work with the Mayor and TfL to ensure London’s transport system delivers for the public and businesses and contributes to the country’s economy.
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Grant Shapps – 2022 Statement on the £2 Bus Fare Cap
The speech made by Grant Shapps, the Secretary of State for Transport in the House of Commons on 5 September 2022.
On 3 September, we announced plans to invest up to £60 million to introduce a £2 bus fare cap on a single bus ticket on most services in England outside London. This will start no later than 1 January 2023 and will be in place for a period of 3 months until March 2023.
At a time when many are struggling with the rising cost of living, this is a significant investment that will result in millions of people across England saving on travel costs. This investment also makes clear our continued commitment to delivering on the bold vision for bus services set out in ‘Bus Back Better’, the government’s national bus strategy, and particularly our ambition to make bus services cheaper. The introduction of the £2 bus fare cap is a significant step forward to delivering this and continues the government’s track record of providing the largest investment in bus services in a generation, in England outside London.
This fare cap will not apply to bus services in London as transport is devolved to the Mayor of London, including fare setting. However, I know that colleagues across Parliament will be pleased that this announcement follows the agreement with Transport for London on a £1.2 billion multi-year settlement to secure the long-term future of London’s transport network, including bus services.
As well as supporting passengers by reducing the cost of bus fares, we have also continued to invest in bus services, in response to the unprecedented impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic but which would now be threatening the provision of services at a time when the public need bus services more than ever.
With nearly £2 billion provided so far, through the COVID-19 bus service support grant, the Bus Recovery Grant and most recently the local transport fund, we have mitigated the impacts of the pandemic on bus networks. This meant that buses were kept running over the course of the pandemic to ensure that those who had to travel for work, education or healthcare were able to access these vital services and help keep this country running.
As I announced to this House in March, this funding was originally due to end in April (2022), but at the time it was clear that the sector was still facing significant financial challenges as it sought to recover from the pandemic. That is why we announced we would provide a further £150 million, and extend recovery funding for the sector until October, to allow bus services the maximum amount of time to recover.
At the time of announcing this funding, we were clear that this would be the last such round of recovery funding. However, with the sector continuing to face significant challenges, and many people facing pressures due to the rising cost of living, we recognise that further government support is necessary to prevent significant cuts to bus services for the millions of people who use them every day.
That is why on 19 August we announced a six-month extension to the Bus Recovery Grant, worth up to £130 million, to continue supporting bus services in England outside London. This will be in effect for 6 months starting in October 2022 until the end of the financial year in March 2023. This funding will provide the sector and passengers with certainty in the short-term and ensure that these vital services will continue to serve those that rely on them to live, work and travel. Both of these further investments in England’s bus services demonstrate our commitment to supporting bus services. We will continue to work closely with the sector as we deliver the national bus strategy, and fulfil our ambition for everyone, everywhere to have access to great bus services.
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PRESS RELEASE : UK Armed Forces continue to strengthen interoperability with Finland and Sweden
The press release issued by the Ministry of Defence on 4 September 2022.
British troops have taken part in Exercise Vigilant Knife alongside Swedish and Finnish Armed Forces.
British troops have taken part in Exercise Vigilant Knife alongside Swedish and Finnish Armed Forces, further strengthening our interoperability in anticipation of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO.
The short notice command-post exercise took place in Rovaniemi and Rovajärvi, northern Finland from 29 August to 2 September 2022 and built on the success of Exercise Vigilant Fox which took place in July.
Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace said:
“Whilst there is war in Europe, it is more important than ever to strengthen our international partnerships. We welcome Finland and Sweden’s application to join NATO and will continue to exercise together so we are ready to face shared security challenges.
Exercise Vigilant Knife is an invaluable opportunity for UK personnel to develop their skills and experience of warfighting in cold weather conditions, enabling them to be effective on the battlefield alongside their Finnish and Swedish counterparts.”
Around 80 British Army personnel from C Company, 2 Rifles Battlegroup took part in the exercise, travelling from the island of Santahamina in the south of Finland where they are undertaking a 3 month training deployment as part of a security agreement between the UK and Finland.
Formed of over 2,000 troops, the international force practiced delivering and receiving international assistance as well as enhancing tactical and technical interoperability.
As a light infantry company, British personnel provided anti-tank, sniper and reconnaissance capabilities to the exercise and were primarily involved in both offensive and defensive actions to test the readiness of the Finnish forces alongside the Swedish unit.
This added to the invaluable experience that UK troops have already enjoyed whilst on deployment in Finland. Operating in northern Finland presented new challenges enabling troops to train in heavily wooded terrain.
Enhancing our forces through international exercises is crucial preparation should we need to deploy alongside our European partners in the future, enabling us to be effective on the battlefield.
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Ben Wallace – 2022 Comments on Exercise Vigilant Knife
The comments made by Ben Wallace, the Secretary of State for Defence, on 4 September 2022.
Whilst there is war in Europe, it is more important than ever to strengthen our international partnerships. We welcome Finland and Sweden’s application to join NATO and will continue to exercise together so we are ready to face shared security challenges.
Exercise Vigilant Knife is an invaluable opportunity for UK personnel to develop their skills and experience of warfighting in cold weather conditions, enabling them to be effective on the battlefield alongside their Finnish and Swedish counterparts.
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PRESS RELEASE : Olena Zelenska holds video conversations with wives of heads of states and governments of Belgium, Austria, North Macedonia, Spain, Serbia
The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 3 September 2022.
First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska continues her video conversations with representatives of various countries who joined this year’s Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen. During the last week, she talked to the wives of the heads of states and governments of Belgium, Austria, North Macedonia, Spain and Serbia.
The talks were aimed at consolidating and deepening cooperation between the countries in the humanitarian, cultural, educational and social spheres, as well as in the field of mental and physical health.
“As it was at the Summit, people are at the center of our conversations. We are talking about those projects for people that have already been launched and those that we would like to implement. By joining our efforts, we will be able to restore Ukraine’s human capital and learn lessons that will help overcome possible future global crises,” the wife of the President of Ukraine said.
Thus, in a conversation with the wife of the Prime Minister of Belgium, Annik Penders, Zelenska thanked for the fact that Belgium was one of the first to provide military aid to Ukraine, supported it in humanitarian and financial terms, and also sheltered more than 50,000 Ukrainians who, due to Russian aggression, were forced to leave their homes. In addition, Belgium accepted 17 seriously wounded Ukrainian servicemen for treatment and rehabilitation and is ready to further assist in this matter.
In a conversation with the wife of the President of the Government of Spain, Maria Begoña Gómez Fernandez, the First Lady of Ukraine highly appreciated the efforts of the government of this country to create favorable conditions for Ukrainians, above all, talked about the opportunities for continuing education for children and finding work for their mothers, as well as for quick organization of language courses for children and adults with the aim of their rapid adaptation. Currently, nearly 260,000 citizens of Ukraine live in Spain, of which 138,000 have been granted temporary protection.
During a conversation with the First Lady of North Macedonia, Elizabeta Gjorgievska, Zelenska thanked her for the humanitarian aid and shelter for more than 3,000 Ukrainian temporary migrants. In addition, within the scope of humanitarian aid, North Macedonia transferred almost 270 tonnes of humanitarian aid to Ukraine (food, clothing, medicine, hygiene products, etc.).
In a conversation with the wife of the Federal President of the Republic of Austria, Doris Schmidauer, Zelenska expressed gratitude for the fact that Austria shows solidarity with Ukrainians and continues to provide them with support. According to official data, Austria has granted homes to about 80,000 Ukrainians, of which 28,500 are persons under the age of 18. In addition, the First Lady of Ukraine offered Schmidauer to become the patron of the book project “Stories of a Better Time” in Austria. The project provides for the publication and reading of books by Ukrainian authors in Ukrainian, German and Dutch languages. They will be distributed in Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands. The interesting part of the project will be the opportunity to read the book on your own. According to the organizers, the initiative will help children overcome sadness, integrate into the environment of the host country and keep in touch with relatives who remained at home.
Having talked with the First Lady of Serbia, Tamara Vučić, the wife of the President of Ukraine thanked her for the help that Serbia provides to Ukrainian temporary migrants, as well as joint sports camps for children. For her part, Vučić said that the Republic of Serbia wants to support Zelenska’s initiative to purchase ambulance vehicles and will hand over two such ambulance vehicles to Ukraine.
Last week the First Lady of Ukraine held talks with the wife of the President of the European Council Amélie Derbaudrenghien, First Lady of the Republic of Latvia Andra Levite, First Lady of Belize Rossana Maria Briceño and the wife of the President of Iceland Eliza Reid.
The second Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen took place in Kyiv on July 23 in a mixed format: some participants joined it in video calls from Warsaw, Brussels, Washington and London. The main studio was located in Kyiv, on the territory of the Sophia of Kyiv National Reserve. The event was attended by 23 first ladies and almost 50 world-famous speakers. The summit was covered by more than 20 countries. The event was devoted to the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine, namely: the restoration of its human capital. One of the main tasks of the Summit was to raise funds for type C ambulance vehicles. To date, it has been possible to raise more than $5.9 million.