Tag: Theresa May

Below is the text of the speech made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, at Davos on 25 January 2018.

Last year, on this platform, I argued that the benefits of free trade were not being felt by all. And I warned that the failure of political and business leaders to address this threatened to undermine popular support for the entire rules based system on which our global security and prosperity depends.

But I also argued that we could change this. Not by turning our backs on free trade or the global rules based system – which together have delivered the greatest advances in prosperity we have ever known. But rather by doubling down on them and acting to ensure that the global economy works for everyone.

One year on, I believe there are grounds for optimism. Global growth has continued to strengthen, with the IMF estimating that global output last year grew by 3.7%. The populism of the Far Left and Far Right has not made the progress that some had predicted.

And in the UK, we have seen productivity rising, unemployment at its lowest rate for over 40 years and more and more examples of government and business working together to bring new jobs and opportunities to communities across our country.

We have also seen important progress on global trade. The UK has been at the forefront of championing new trade deals, including the EU’s deals with Canada and Japan. The G20 has agreed commitments to tackle overcapacity in steel and the World Trade Organisation has made progress towards launching plurilateral discussions on digital trade.

And as we leave the European Union, the UK will continue to be a global advocate of free trade. Pushing for progress on WTO discussions; seeking to bring new partners to the table – and, of course, after we have left the EU, developing new bilateral deals with countries across the world.

But there is much more to be done by the whole international community. And, frankly, too often our rhetoric in support of free trade here in Davos is not matched by our actions.

The commitments on steel must be implemented.

Like the UK, other big aid donors should support developing countries to ensure they can harness the benefits of global growth.

And the World Trade Organisation still needs to go much further in its reforms, ensuring its rulebook keeps pace with developments in the global economy.

For example, services make up 6 per cent of global GDP – yet while some recent trade negotiations are achieving more ambitious outcomes on services, the Trade in Services Agreement remains stalled.

And while the likes of eBay, Amazon and Alibaba have grown into global giants, taking on a central role in the lives of billions around the world, the WTO has been struggling to remove barriers to e-commerce trade for almost twenty years.

Progress on these issues really matters. Because technological advances continue to revolutionise the possibilities for humanity and we must have the international frameworks in place to ensure everyone can benefit from them.

Already, access to the internet has been estimated to have the potential to generate over $2.2 trillion in additional GDP and more than 140 million new jobs in developing countries alone.

While nearly 35 per cent of the adult population in Sub-Saharan Africa has a mobile money account, the highest percentage in the world.

And now the impact of technology is growing in ways that even a few years ago we could not have imagined.

Just last week, a drone saved two boys drowning off the coast of Australia by carrying a floatation device to them.

The use of Artificial Intelligence is transforming healthcare. In one test, machine learning reduced the number of unnecessary surgeries for breast cancer by a third.

The development of speech recognition and translation is reaching a level where we will be able to go anywhere in the world and communicate using our native language.

While British-based companies like Ripjar are pioneering the use of data science and Artificial Intelligence to protect companies from money laundering, fraud, cyber-crime and terrorism.

In all these ways, harnessing the power of technology is not just in all our interests – but fundamental to the advance of humanity.

But this technological progress also raises new and profound challenges which we need to address.

For example, many fear that because of technology they and their children will lose out on the jobs of the future.

And they worry too about how new technologies might be exploited by those with malevolent intentions; and what that could mean for the safety and wellbeing of their families and children.

So today I am going to make the case for how we can best harness the huge potential of technology.

But also how we address these profound concerns. So that technology is the force for progress that we all know it can be.

Right across the long sweep of history – from the invention of electricity to the advent of factory production – time and again initially disquieting innovations have delivered previously unthinkable advances and we have found the way to make those changes work for all our people.

Now we must find the way to do so again.

Industrial Strategy

Let me start with how we can embrace technology.

Key to this is channelling the power of government and business in partnership to seize the opportunities of technology and create high-quality, well-paid jobs right across the world.

That is why in the UK I have put the development of a Modern Industrial Strategy at the heart of the government’s agenda.

It is a new long-term approach to shaping a stronger and fairer economy – and it understands what government and business each bring to the table.

Because I understand the power of business as a force for good.

I know that it is free and competitive markets that drive the innovation, creativity and risk-taking that have enabled so many of the great advances of our time.

But I also understand the good that government can do, creating the conditions where successful businesses can emerge and grow, and helping them to invest in the future of our nation.

So the message of our industrial strategy to the world is clear: Britain will be one of the best places in the world in which to start and grow a business.

The strategy gets the fundamentals right.

It drives investment in infrastructure at a local as well as a national level.

And it equips our people with the skills they need – and the skills business needs – to be successful in a changing global economy.

For if we are to retain popular support for the rules based system, we have to stop and understand – sitting up here in these mountains in Davos – what it can really feel like for someone who has worked for twenty years and who now finds that the job they know how to do today is not going to be a job that needs doing in the future.

And the answer isn’t to pretend we can sit back and leave it to the labour market alone to resolve.

We need to act decisively to help people benefit from global growth now.

That is why as part of our industrial strategy, there is a focus on supporting new jobs and industries that build on the strengths of local communities.

For example, on our East Coast, Hull is getting behind offshore wind, generating hundreds of jobs in partnership with Siemens.

And just as we act to help support new jobs today, so we also need to help people secure the jobs of tomorrow.

So we are establishing a technical education system that rivals the best in the world, alongside our world-class higher education system.

We are developing a National Retraining Scheme to help people learn throughout their career.

And we are establishing an Institute of Coding – a consortium of more than 60 universities, businesses and industry experts to support training and retraining in digital skills.

And I know from my conversations with tech companies how seriously they are taking their own social responsibility to contribute to the retraining that will help people secure new opportunities in the digital economy.

But this strategy and partnership with business goes further than getting the fundamentals of our economy right.

It also seeks to get us on the front foot in seizing the opportunities of technology for tomorrow.

We are delivering the UK’s biggest ever increase in public investment in research and development, which could increase public and private R&D investment by as much as £80 billion over the next 10 years.

We are at the forefront of the development, manufacture and use of low carbon technologies.

We are using technology to support the needs of an ageing society, for example by employing powerful datasets to help diagnose and treat illnesses earlier.

And we are establishing the UK as a world leader in Artificial Intelligence, building on the success of British companies like Deepmind.

For I believe we have only just seen the beginning of what AI can achieve.

Imagine a world in which self-driving cars radically reduce the number of deaths on our roads.

Imagine a world where remote monitoring and inspection of critical infrastructure makes dangerous jobs safer.

Imagine a world where we can predict and prevent the spread of diseases around the globe.

These are the kinds of advances that we could see and that we should want to see.

Already the UK is recognised as first in the world for our preparedness to bring Artificial Intelligence into public service delivery.

We have seen a new AI start-up created in the UK every week for the last three years. And we are investing in the skills these start-ups need, spending £45 million to support additional PhDs in AI and related disciplines and creating at least 200 extra places a year by 2020-21.

We are absolutely determined to make our country the place to come and set up to seize the opportunities of Artificial Intelligence for the future.

But as we seize these opportunities of technology, so we also have to shape this change to ensure it works for everyone – be that in people’s jobs or their daily lives.

Technological change in the workplace

Already technology is changing the nature of our workplaces and leaving many people with less predictable working patterns.

So we need to make sure that our employment law keeps pace with the way that technology is shaping modern working practices.

Take the example of Uber – a ground-breaking use of technology that has radically changed how people move around in cities across the world. But also a company that has got things wrong along the way – with safety issues and concerns over the protections for its workers.

The answer isn’t to shut Uber down but rather to address those concerns, and to establish and enforce the standards and protections that can make this technology work for customers and employees alike.

So employment law needs to preserve vital rights and protections – and the flexibilities that businesses and workers value.

But we must make sure those flexibilities really do work for everyone, and don’t become a one-sided deal that can become exploitative.

And that is at the heart of the Review that Matthew Taylor conducted for the UK government last year.

And we will be working to deliver on it – from exploring the case for reforms to make our employment status tests clearer, to identifying a set of metrics against which to measure job quality.

Making the internet work for everyone

Just as people need to feel that technological change in the workplace is to their benefit, so we need to ensure that they have faith that the increasing role of technology throughout their lives is enhancing the opportunities they have and the world in which they live.

Technologies like the internet were developed with a philosophy that connecting us together would improve people’s lives.

And in many ways they have. But so far, that hasn’t been completely true for everyone.

Just this week, a survey in the UK has found that 7 in 10 people believe social media companies do not do enough to stop illegal or unethical behaviour on their platforms, prevent the sharing of extremist content or do enough to prevent bullying.

The loss of trust is hugely damaging. And it is in all our interests to address it.

In some areas that means we will need new rules and legislation.

In others, such as online hatred and bullying, we need norms and expectations of how civilised people should interact in ways that can’t be achieved through legislation.

The Digital Charter we are developing in the UK sets out the principles of our approach to agree the rights and responsibilities of the online world and to put them into practice.

It is profoundly pro-business because it seeks to support digital businesses in securing the trust and public confidence that they need.

At its heart is a set of principles.

That the same rights people have offline should be protected online;

That the internet should remain free, open and accessible;

That people should understand the rules that apply to them when they are online;

That personal data should be respected and used appropriately;

That protections should be in place to help keep people safe online, especially children.

And that the social and economic benefits brought by new technologies should be fairly shared.

And underpinning all of this is our determination to make the UK a world leader in innovation-friendly regulation.

Regulation that will make the UK the best place to start and grow a digital business – but also the safest place to be online.

But when technology platforms work across geographical boundaries, no one country and no one government alone can deliver the international norms, rules and standards for a global digital world.

Technology companies themselves, investors, and all our international partners need to play their part.

First, technology companies still need to do more in stepping up to their responsibilities for dealing with harmful and illegal online activity.

Companies simply cannot stand by while their platforms are used to facilitate child abuse, modern slavery or the spreading of terrorist and extremist content.

We have made some progress. Last September at the UN, I joined President Macron and Prime Minister Gentiloni in convening the first ever UN summit of government and industry to move further and faster in reducing the time it takes to remove terrorist content online, and to increase significantly their efforts to stop it being uploaded in the first place.

But we need to go further, so that ultimately this content is removed automatically.

These companies have some of the best brains in the world. They must focus their brightest and best on meeting these fundamental social responsibilities.

And just as these big companies need to step up, so we also need cross-industry responses because smaller platforms can quickly become home to criminals and terrorists.

We have seen that happen with Telegram. And we need to see more co-operation from smaller platforms like this.

No-one wants to be known as “the terrorists’ platform” or the first choice app for paedophiles.

As governments, it is also right that we look at the legal liability that social media companies have for the content shared on their sites.

The status quo is increasingly unsustainable as it becomes clear these platforms are no longer just passive hosts.

But applying the existing standards of liability for publishers is not straight forward so we need to consider what is most appropriate for the modern economy.

We are already working with our European and international partners, as well as the businesses themselves, to understand how we can make the existing frameworks and definitions work better – and to assess in particular, whether there is a case for developing a new definition for these platforms. And we will continue to do so.

Second, investors can play a vital role by considering the social impact of the companies they are investing in.

This is fundamental to the proper functioning of markets, choice and competition.

Shareholders should care about these social impacts because the business model of a company is not sustainable if it does not command public support and consent.

And they can use their influence to ensure these issues are taken seriously.

For example, earlier this month a group of shareholders demanded that Facebook and Twitter disclose more information about sexual harassment, fake news, hate speech and other forms of abuse that take place on the companies’ platforms.

So investors can make a big difference here by ensuring trust and safety issues are being properly considered.

And I urge them to do so.

Third, in a global digital age we need the norms and rules we establish to be shared by all.

That includes establishing the rules and standards that can make the most of Artificial Intelligence in a responsible way, such as by ensuring that algorithms don’t perpetuate the human biases of their developers.

So we want our new world-leading Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation to work closely with international partners to build a common understanding of how to ensure the safe, ethical and innovative deployment of Artificial Intelligence.

And I am delighted that the UK will also be joining the World Economic Forum’s new council on Artificial Intelligence to help shape global governance and applications of this new technology.

Conclusion

Many leaders this week are setting out defences of globalisation, open economies, free trade and technological progress – while grappling with how to ensure these operate fairly for all our countries and all our people.

The test of leadership, however, is what action we take. And I am clear about three things.

First, the critical nature of international co-operation within the global rules based system – for every country must support and shape the rules for free and fair trade and investment. We cannot pull in different directions.

Second, that we have to do more to help our people in the changing global economy, to rebuild their trust in technology as a driver of progress and ensure no-one is left behind as we take the next leap forwards.

But third, above all, we have to remember that the risks and challenges we face do not outweigh the opportunities. And in seeking to refresh the rules to meet the challenges of today, we must not miss out on the prize for tomorrow.

For the forces of free trade and technological progress which have brought us to this point are as nothing in comparison to their potential to enrich the lives of our children and grandchildren.

The United Kingdom has a proud history of stepping up, seizing the opportunities of our time and shaping the international rules and partnerships that can deliver progress for all.

We stand ready to do so again.

So together, let us renew our commitment to co-operation across governments, business, investors and society at large.

And let us set ourselves on a path to deliver prosperity and growth for the benefit of all our people, now and for generations to come.

Thank you.

Below is the text of the speech made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London on 18 January 2018.

I am delighted to welcome you to the world-famous V&A this evening – a jewel in the crown of Britain’s culture. And now, like so much of Britain, further enriched by a French contribution – with Alice Dietsch as Project Director for the development of the stunning Exhibition Road Quarter which opened last Summer. And I am very pleased that Alice joins us here this evening, together with British architect Amanda Levete, whose practice delivered the whole project.

This evening marks the culmination of the 35th Franco-British Summit.

Traditionally this Summit has focused on our security and defence partnership. And it is right that today we have deepened that partnership further.

And of course we meet in the year that marks a century since the end of the First World War, when our troops fought side-by-side in defence of our shared belief in freedom and resistance against aggression.

And today we stand together against new threats to that same shared belief in freedom. And as I said in my very first speech as Prime Minister in the British Parliament – in the aftermath of the appalling terrorist attack in Nice – “the values of liberté, égalité and fraternité will prevail.”

But tonight is about even more than the defence of our shared values. It is about celebrating those values and the extraordinary depth of the people to people links between our countries.

Here in this Gallery tonight we have partners in business that make up just some of the £71 billion of trade between our countries every year.

Partners in science – from joint space programmes to joint working on genomics in the fight against cancer.

Partners in culture – for example, with your wonderful offer to bring the Bayeux Tapestry to our shores. The first time in almost a thousand years that people right here in Britain will have the opportunity to see a piece of French art that is so important to both our national stories.

Partners in sport – sharing ideas and expertise about major sporting events ahead of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Innovative charity partners like Street League and Sport Dans La Ville – working together to use the power of sport to help young people into jobs and training.

Local partners – with mayors and school leaders who have built links across the Channel, like the new twinnings between Guildford and Versailles, and Tetbury and Chatillon.

And the leaders of the next generation – including representatives from the young leaders’ programme of the Franco-British Council which launched last year and which I know is looking for new candidates for its second cohort – so please help them find the very best of British and French talent.

All of us are here because we believe in the profound importance of the historic friendship between our countries – and because we want to strengthen it further for the future.

Now as the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, I know there has been some uncertainty about that future and what it might mean for French people living here in Britain.

So let me say this:

En tant que Première Ministre du Royaume-Uni, je suis fière que plus de trois millions de citoyens européens y compris des centaines de milliers de nos amis français aient choisi de faire leur vie et de construire leur foyer ici, dans notre pays. J’attache une grande valeur à votre contribution à notre pays – vous enrichissez tous les secteurs de notre économie, de notre société, de notre culture, de nos vies. Je sais que notre pays serait plus pauvre si vous le quittiez, et je souhaite que vous restiez.

[Translation: As Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, I am proud that more than three million EU citizens [including hundreds of thousands of our French friends] have chosen to make your homes and livelihoods here in our country. I greatly value the depth of the contributions you make – enriching every part of our economy, our society, our culture and our national life. I know our country would be poorer if you left and I want you to stay.]

I know that Emmanuel feels the same about the British community in France.

And we are proud that the agreement we secured at last month’s EU council means that French people living here and Brits living in France can carry on living their lives as before.

But the ambition that we share for the future relationship between the UK and France is so much greater.

So today, more than a century on from the “entente cordiale” let us celebrate our own “entente chaleureuse”.

And let us show just how much this friendship matters to us all – today and for the generations to come.

Below is the text of the speech made by Theresa May on 17 January 2018.

Thank you, thank you very much for those excellent words, Seema, and good afternoon, everyone. It’s an honour to have you all here today as we remember the life of a remarkable woman and thank those who are continuing the work that meant so much to her. And I’d like to give a very special welcome to Jo’s immediate family. Her husband, Brendan, who has been an inspiration to so many over the past year and a half. Her wonderful children, Cuillin and Lejla; her proud parents, Jean and Gordon; Brendan’s parents, Sheila and Gordon; and Jo’s beloved little sister, Kim. Kim once said of her older sister that she wasn’t a complainer but a doer. It’s all too easy to stand on the side lines and say that something must be done. Actually getting out there and doing it, as Jo did throughout her life, takes an extra level of effort and commitment. And that determination to make things happen, to bring about change, was something that defined Jo’s work, both before and after she entered Parliament. And in the 19 months since her death, it’s a legacy that has been carried forward both by her family and by the Foundation and Commission that bears her name, and at the heart of that work is the fight against loneliness.

In a country of more than 60 million people, and in an age where we can instantly connect with friends, relatives and even strangers around the world, it may seem counterintuitive that any of us could find ourselves feeling lonely. Yet, more than 9 million of us say that we always, or often, feel lonely. 200,000 older people have not had a conversation with a friend or a relative in more than a month. Up to 85% of young adults with disabilities say they feel lonely most days.

As Jo herself used to say, loneliness doesn’t discriminate. But just as loneliness can affect any of us, so any of us can help to tackle it. And that could mean simply popping round to see an elderly neighbour or picking up the phone to a relative. Or you could follow the example of Phil Burton, a former Royal Artillery Lance Bombardier who is here with us today. After leaving the Army, Phil realised that many of his ex-servicemen were suffering from social isolation; they had lost the close‑knit family that the Armed Forces provided. So, last year, he founded the Veterans Café in Lancashire. Its fortnightly get-togethers create a place where former members of the Armed Forces can come together, talk, share experiences and access support from charities and the NHS, and the projects proved a huge success, attracting hundreds of veterans of all ages. And just talking to Phil earlier on, he was saying that for many veterans they won’t open up to somebody in authority or somebody who’s there to help them, but they will open up to another veteran. And that is so important to them, and so many lives have been changed as a result of what Phil has done. So, I was delighted to meet him and present him with a Points of Light award earlier, which recognises outstanding volunteers in our country for their service to others. And the Veterans Café is exactly the kind of local project Jo supported, celebrated and encouraged.

And over the past year and a half, the Jo Cox Foundation has continued that work, most notably with The Great Get Together, and last summer’s events were the biggest set of neighbourhood celebrations since the Jubilee street parties. I had the pleasure of attending one in my own constituency, and I am very pleased to confirm that The Great Get Together will return this summer, on 22nd June. It will bring together millions of people on what would have been Jo’s 44th birthday. I am certainly looking forward to it.

But Jo’s legacy doesn’t end there. There is also the Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness, created just over a year ago. And in the spirit of having more in common, it is, as you’ve just heard from Seema, jointly shared by two MPs: one Conservative, my good friend, Seema Kennedy, who you’ve just heard from; and one Labour, Rachel Reeves. And both worked closely with Jo during her all too brief time in Parliament. And both have spent the past 12 months looking at what the Government and others can do, to continue her legacy. And the Commission’s report, which was published just before Christmas, highlights a range of areas where action is needed. And in response, we’ve started work on an England-wide strategy to tackle loneliness, which will be published later this year.

Work has also begun on developing the evidence base around the impact of different initiatives, across all ages and within all communities. And the Office of National Statistics is committed to establishing a framework for measuring loneliness, so consistent figures can be used in major research studies. And we will create a new, dedicated fund that will see government working with charities, foundations, and others, to stimulate innovative solutions, provide seed funding for community initiatives, and scale-up existing projects. And all this work will be overseen by a new ministerial lead on loneliness, Tracey Crouch. She will be keeping the challenge of tackling loneliness firmly on the agenda of colleagues across Whitehall. And any of you have met Tracey today at the reception, I think will agree that she is hugely enthusiastic about the role that she has taken on. Because this issue isn’t just an issue for our Health Service, or for local councils, every department has a role to play and Tracey will be responsible for bringing them all together to get things done, and she’ll be continuing to work closely with the Jo Cox Commission. And of course, she’ll also be collaborating with people like you here in this room today. People who, like Jo, believe in causes and ideals, in working together in making a difference. And when I look around the room today, those are the kind of people that I see. You are all contributing in your own way, but in so many different ways. And Tracey and I are looking forward to working with you to make this project a fitting tribute to everything that Jo stood for.

In Brendan’s memoir of life with Jo, he recounts the awful first night after Cuillin and Lejla learnt that their mother had died, and he describes how Cuillin, then aged just five, wrote and sang a song in tribute to her; a song with a simple yet devastating refrain, ‘I love my mummy, I will not leave her behind’. Cuillin, don’t worry, none of us will leave your mummy behind. None of us will forget her life, her ideals, or what she stood for. And all of us will do all that we can to see that, in her memory, we bring an end to the acceptance of loneliness in our society. Thank you.

Below is the text of the speech made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, at the London Wetland Centre in Barnes on 11 January 2018.

It is wonderful to be here at the Wetland Centre – a true oasis in the heart of London.

In our election manifesto last year we made an important pledge: to make ours the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than we found it.

As we leave the European Union, which for decades has controlled some of the most important levers of environmental policy, now is the right time to put the question of how we protect and enhance our natural environment centre-stage.

And it is a central priority for this government.

Our mission is to build a Britain where the next generation can enjoy a better life than the one that went before it.

That means tackling the deficit and dealing with our debts, so they are not a burden for our children and grandchildren.

It means building the houses that people need, so that the dream of home ownership can be a reality.

Ensuring every child has a good school place and can get the best start in life.

And it also means protecting and enhancing our natural environment for the next generation, so they have a healthy and beautiful country in which to build their lives.

Making good on the promise that each new generation should be able to build a better future is a fundamental Conservative principle.

And whilst every political tradition has a stake in our natural environment, speaking as the Leader of the Conservative Party, I know I draw upon a proud heritage.

Because Conservatism and Conservation are natural allies.

The fundamental understanding which lies at the heart of our philosophical tradition is that we in the present are trustees charged with protecting and improving what we have inherited from those who went before us.

And it is our responsibility to pass on that inheritance to the next generation.

That applies to the great national institutions which we have built up as a society over generations, like our courts, our Parliament, the BBC and the NHS.

And it applies equally to our natural heritage.

Value of our natural environment

Britain has always been a world leader in understanding and protecting the natural world.

From Gilbert White’s vivid descriptions of the ecology of his Hampshire village in the first work of natural history writing, in the eighteenth century, to Sir David Attenborough’s landmark TV series in the twenty-first century, which have opened the eyes of millions of people to the wonder of our planet and to the threats it faces – the appeal of our natural world is universal and has caught the imagination of successive generations.

In the United Kingdom, we are blessed with an abundance and variety of landscapes and habitats.

These natural assets are of immense value.

Our countryside and coastal waters are the means by which we sustain our existence in these islands.

They are where we grow and harvest a large proportion of the food we eat. Where the water we drink comes from.

Our green and blue places have inspired some of our greatest poetry, art and music and have become global cultural icons.

Shakespeare’s Forest of Arden has been recreated on stages across the globe.

Beatrix Potter’s stories and William’s Wordsworth’s poetic descriptions of ‘the calm that Nature breathes among the hills’ has made the Lake District world-renowned.

The Suffolk landscapes of John Constable, and the beautiful depictions of the River Thames in my own constituency by Sir Stanley Spencer, are iconic.

People from every continent are drawn to our shores to enjoy these beautiful landscapes, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs in tourism.

Industries which directly draw on our environment – from agriculture and forestry to aquaculture and fishing – support hundreds of thousands of jobs and contribute billions to our economy.

The natural environment is around us wherever we are, and getting closer to it is good for our physical and mental health and our emotional and spiritual wellbeing.

Millions of us visit the countryside, the seaside, a local park or places like this, every week to recharge our batteries, spend time with friends and family, and to exercise.

So the environment is something personal to each of us, but it is also something which collectively we hold in trust for the next generation.

And we have a responsibility to protect and enhance it.

Conservation and growth

It is sometimes suggested that a belief in a free market economy which pursues the objective of economic growth is not compatible with taking the action necessary to protect and enhance our natural environment.

That we need to give up on the very idea of economic growth itself as the price we have to pay for sustainability.

Others argue that taking any action to protect and improve our environment harms business and holds back growth.

Both are wrong. They present a false choice which I entirely reject.

A free market economy, operating under the right rules, regulations, and incentives, delivering sustainable economic growth, is the single greatest agent of collective human progress we have ever known.

Time and again, it has lifted whole societies out of abject poverty and subsistence living, increased life expectancy, widened literacy and improved educational standards.

More than this, it is in free economies and free societies that the technological and scientific breakthroughs which improve and save lives are made.

The innovation and invention of a free enterprise economy will help to deliver new technology to drive a revolution in clean growth.

Around the world, economies at all stages of development are embracing new low-carbon technologies and a more efficient use of resources to move onto a path of clean and sustainable growth.

And our Industrial Strategy puts harnessing the economic potential of the clean growth revolution at its heart, as one of its four Grand Challenges.

From how we generate power, and transport people and goods, to our industrial processes and how we grow our food – new clean technologies have the potential to deliver more good jobs and higher living standards.

The UK is already home to around half a million jobs in low carbon businesses and their supply chain.

We are a world-leader in the manufacture of electric vehicles.

We are the biggest offshore wind energy producer in the world.

And we must continue to press for sustainable economic growth, and the immense benefits it brings.

Of course, for a market to function properly it has to be regulated.

And environmental protection is a vital part of any good regulatory regime.

So where government needs to intervene to ensure that high standards are met, we will not hesitate to do so.

That is the approach which underpins our corporate governance reforms and our plans to make the energy market work better for consumers.

Government stepping-up to its proper role as an engaged and active participant defines our Industrial Strategy.

And it is the approach we are taking in this Environment Plan too.

Together, they combine to form a coherent approach to boosting economic productivity, prosperity and growth, while at the same time restoring and enhancing our natural environment.

Our record

Conservative Governments have always taken our responsibility to the natural environment seriously.

In the nineteenth century it was Benjamin Disraeli’s Conservative government which passed the River Pollution Prevention Act, providing the first legal environmental protections for our waterways.

A Conservative government in the 1950s passed the Clean Air Act, making the Great Smog of London a thing of the past.

Margaret Thatcher was the first world leader to recognise the threat of global warming and helped to protect our ozone layers through her work on the Montreal Protocol.

And David Cameron restored environmentalism to a central place in the Conservative agenda.

The measures set out in this plan build on this proud heritage, and the action which we have taken in office since 2010.

We have seen some notable successes.

Thanks to concerted action over many years, our rivers and beaches are now cleaner than they have been at any time since the Industrial Revolution.

Otters are back in rivers in every English county.

We are releasing beavers to the Forest of Dean, to help reduce the risk of flooding and enhance biodiversity.

Action at the EU level – of which the UK has consistently been a champion – has helped drive these improvements.

Because we recognise their value, we will incorporate all existing EU environmental regulations into domestic law when we leave.

And let me be very clear. Brexit will not mean a lowering of environmental standards.

We will set out our plans for a new, world leading independent statutory body to hold government to account and give the environment a voice. And our work will be underpinned by a strong set of environmental principles.

We will consult widely on these proposals, not least with many of the people in this room.

But be in no doubt: our record shows that we have already gone further than EU regulation requires of us to protect our environment.

Thanks to action we have taken, 7,886 square miles of coastal waters around the UK are now Marine Conservation Zones, protecting a range of nationally important, rare or threatened habitats and species.

Our ban on the use of microbeads in cosmetic and personal care products is another positive step towards protecting our marine environment.

And we want to further restrict neonicotinoids to protect our bees.

We will use the opportunity Brexit provides to strengthen and enhance our environmental protections – not to weaken them.

We will develop a new environmental land management scheme which supports farmers who deliver environmental benefits for the public.

And once we’ve taken back control of our waters, we will implement a more sustainable fishing policy that also supports our vital coastal communities.

Animal welfare

That is action for the future – but we are also acting in the here and now.

When animals are mistreated, our common humanity is tarnished.

So we are pursuing policies to make Britain a world-leader in tackling the abuse of animals.

Here at home we are introducing mandatory CCTV into slaughter houses, to ensure standards of treatment are upheld.

We are increasing the maximum sentence for the worst acts of animal cruelty in England and Wales ten-fold.

We recognise that animals are sentient beings and we will enshrine that understanding in primary legislation.

We have consulted on plans to introduce a total ban on UK sales of ivory that contribute either directly or indirectly to the continued poaching of elephants.

In 2014, we convened the London Conference on the Illegal Wildlife Trade, the first of its kind, to help eradicate an abhorrent crime and to better protect the world’s most iconic species from the threat of extinction.

In October we will host this conference again and will press for further international action.

Whether they are pets, livestock or wild fauna, animals deserve the proper protection of the law and under a Conservative government that is exactly what they will receive.

Enhancing our natural environment

I am proud of the progress we have made but recognise that the challenges we face remain acute.

In England, changes in patterns of land use have seen habitats lost and species threatened.

Since 1970 there has been a significant decline in the numbers of woodland and farmland birds.

Pollinating insects have declined by 13% since 1980.

And while the water in our rivers and beaches are cleaner than ever, around the world eight million tonnes of plastic makes its way into the oceans each year.

The problem was vividly highlighted in the BBC’s recent Blue Planet II series, which was public service broadcasting at its finest.

And I also pay tribute to the Daily Mail for its tireless campaigning on this issue.

The 25 year environment plan for England, which we are publishing today, sets out the action government will take to tackle all of these challenges, and I pay tribute to Michael Gove and his team for their work on it and the energy and enthusiasm they have brought to this.

Its goals are simple: clean air, clean and plentiful water, plants and animals which are thriving, and a cleaner, greener country for us all.

These are all valuable in themselves, but together they add up to something truly profound: a better world for each of us to live in, and better future for the next generation.

We have worked closely with the devolved administrations as we have developed this plan, and we want to work closely with them on these issues in the years ahead.

This is a plan for the long-term: as our environment changes, our plan will be updated to ensure we are continuing to deliver on our commitment to deliver a healthy natural environment.

Northern Forest

Nothing is more emblematic of that natural environment than our trees.

A tree is a home to countless organisms, from insects to small mammals.

They are natural air purifiers. They act as flood defences.

We have committed to plant millions more trees, in urban and rural locations.

We also support increased protections for England’s existing trees and forests, both from inappropriate developments and from invasive pests and diseases.

To make more land available for the homes our country needs, while at the same time creating new habitats for wildlife, we will embed the principle of ‘net environmental gain’ for development, including housing and infrastructure.

And as we pursue our Northern Powerhouse, connecting the great cities of the North of England to promote their economic growth, we will also create a new Northern Forest.

It will be a new community woodland for Cheshire, Lancashire and Yorkshire, provide a new and enduring amenity for the growing population of the north of England, and act as a carbon sink for the UK.

Decades from now, children as yet unborn will be exploring this forest, playing under the shade of its trees and learning about our natural world from its flora and fauna.

Access and participation

But today, more than one in ten young people do not spend time in the countryside or in large urban green spaces, meaning they are denied the benefits which spending time outdoors in the natural environment brings.

These young people are disproportionately from more deprived backgrounds and their effective exclusion from our countryside represents a social injustice which I am determined to tackle.

The National Park Authorities already engage directly with over 60,000 young people a year in schools visits, and they will now double this figure to ensure that even more young people can learn about our most precious environments.

I have seen for myself this morning the excitement and enthusiasm of children learning about these wetlands and the birds that inhabit them.

And to help more children lead happy and healthy lives, we will launch a new Nature Friendly Schools programme.

Targeting schools in disadvantaged areas first, it will create improved school grounds which allow young people to learn about the natural world.

It doesn’t have to be big, difficult or expensive.

It could be planting a garden, growing a vegetable patch, or setting up a bird feeder.

Whatever form it takes, it will be putting nature into the lives of young people, because everyone deserves to experience it first-hand.

And this work with schools will be supported by £10 million of investment.

Plastics

We look back in horror at some of the damage done to our environment in the past and wonder how anyone could have thought that, for example, dumping toxic chemicals untreated into rivers was ever the right thing to do.

In years to come, I think people will be shocked at how today we allow so much plastic to be produced needlessly.

In the UK alone, the amount of single-use plastic wasted every year would fill 1,000 Royal Albert Halls.

This plastic is ingested by dozens of species of marine animals and over 100 species of sea birds, causing immense suffering to individual creatures and degrading vital habitats.

1 million birds, and over 100,000 other sea mammals and turtles die every year from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste.

This truly is one of the great environmental scourges of our time.

Today I can confirm that the UK will demonstrate global leadership.

We must reduce the demand for plastic, reduce the number of plastics in circulation and improve our recycling rates.

So we will take action at every stage of the production and consumption of plastic.

As it is produced, we will encourage manufacturers to take responsibility for the impacts of their products and rationalise the number of different types of plastics they use.

As it is consumed, we will drive down the amount of plastic in circulation through reducing demand.

Government will lead the way by removing all consumer single use plastic in central government offices.

And I want to see other large organisations commit to doing the same.

Supermarkets also need to do much more to cut down on unnecessary plastic packaging, so we will work with them to explore introducing plastic-free aisles, where all the food is sold loose.

And we will make it easier for people to recycle their plastics, so less of it ends up in landfills or our waterways.

But I want us to go a step further.

We have seen a powerful example over the last couple of years of the difference which a relatively simple policy can make for our environment.

In 2015 we started asking shoppers to pay a 5p charge for using a plastic bag.

As a direct consequence, we have used 9 billion fewer of them since the charge was introduced.

This means the marine-life around the shores of the UK is safer, our local communities are cleaner and fewer plastic bags are ending up in landfill sites.

This success should inspire us.

It shows the difference we can make, and it demonstrates that the public is willing to play its part to protect our environment.

So to help achieve our goal of eliminating all avoidable plastic waste, we will extend the 5p plastic bag charge to all retailers, to further reduce usage.

And next month, we will launch a call for evidence on taxes or charges on single use plastics.

We will also use the United Kingdom’s international influence to drive positive change around the world.

When we host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April we will put the sustainable development of our oceans firmly on the agenda.

We will work with our partners to create a Commonwealth Blue Charter and push for strong action to reduce plastic waste in the ocean.

And we will direct our development spending to help developing nations reduce plastic waste; increase our own marine protected areas at home; and establish new Blue Belt protections in our Overseas Territories.

I want the Britain of the future to be a truly Global Britain, which is a force for good in the world.

Steadfast in upholding our values – not least our fierce commitment to protecting the natural environment.

Climate change

You can see that commitment in our work on climate change.

Since 2012, the carbon-intensity of UK electricity has fallen by more than twice that of any other major economy.

In 2016 the UK succeeded in decarbonising at a faster rate than any other G20 country.

And last April, the UK had its first full day without any coal-fired electricity since the 1880s.

We are supporting the world’s poorest as they face up to the effects of rising sea waters and the extreme weather events associated with climate change.

Last month I attended the One Planet Summit in Paris, where I announced new support for countries in the Caribbean, Asia and Africa to help them build resilience against natural disasters and climate extremes.

We will continue to lead the world in delivering on our commitments to the planet, from fulfilling the environmental aspects of the UN Sustainable Development Goals to complying with the Paris Climate Agreement.

Our Clean Growth Strategy set out our commitment to phase out unabated coal fired electricity by 2025, and through the Power Past Coal alliance, which the UK established with Canada, we are encouraging other countries to do the same.

26 nations have already joined the alliance – and I will carry on pressing others to join too.

We can be proud of our success in facing up to the reality of climate change.

But as the plan we are publishing today demonstrates, we are not complacent about the action needed to sustain that success in the future.

Air quality

And we are not complacent about the action we need to take here in the UK to improve the quality of the air in our towns and cities.

Since 2010, air quality has improved, and will continue to improve, as a result of action we are taking, but I know that there is more to do.

That is why we have committed £3.5 billion to support measures to improve air quality.

We are investing in electric vehicle infrastructure and new charging technologies, supporting the roll-out of low carbon buses, and expanding cycling and walking infrastructure.

In July we published our plan to tackle traffic pollution and we will end the sale of new conventional petrol and diesel cars by 2040.

In the last Budget we announced a £220 million Clean Air Fund, paid for by tax changes to company car tax and vehicle excise duty on new diesel cars.

This year, we will set out how government will support the transition to almost all cars and vans being zero emission vehicles by 2050.

And the UK will host an international zero-emission vehicle summit, driving innovation towards cleaner transport.

I am determined that we will do what it takes to ensure our air is clean and safe for the future.

Conclusion

The New Year is a time to look ahead.

The UK is making good progress in our discussions on EU withdrawal – and I am determined that we will keep up that progress in 2018.

We are pursuing a modern Industrial Strategy which will help promote sustainable growth in our economy and deliver greater prosperity across the country.

We are improving standards in schools, investing in our National Health Service and helping more people to own their own homes.

And in our comprehensive 25 year environment plan, we are setting out how we will protect and renew our natural inheritance for the next generation.

How we will make our air and water cleaner, and our natural habitats more diverse and healthy.

How we will create a better world for ourselves and our children.

It is a national plan of action, with international ambitions.

But what it really speaks to is something much more personal for each of us as human beings.

That is: the impulse to care for and nurture our own surroundings.

To protect what is vulnerable and precious.

To safeguard and improve on our inheritance, so we can pass on something of value and significance to those who come after us.

It is what Roger Scruton has described as: ‘the goal towards which serious environmentalism and serious conservatism both point – namely, home, the place where we are and that we share, the place that defines us, that we hold in trust for our descendants, and that we don’t want to spoil.’

Our goal is a healthy and beautiful natural environment which we can all enjoy, and which we can be proud to pass on to the next generation.

This plan is how we will achieve it.

Below is the text of the statement made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, in the House of Commons on 21 December 2017.

As the Government announced last month, a full statutory inquiry into the infected blood scandal will be established under the Inquiries Act 2005, and sponsored by the Cabinet Office. The inquiry will have full powers, including the power to compel the production of documents, and to summon witnesses to give evidence on oath.

We are today setting out the next steps.

The Cabinet Office has now completed its analysis of the responses to the consultation on the format of the statutory inquiry into infected blood announced in July. In addition a series of roundtable meetings were held earlier this month with individuals and groups representing those affected.

The Government committed to making an announcement regarding the chair of the inquiry before Christmas, taking into account the views we have received. We are therefore announcing today our intention to appoint a judge to chair the inquiry. We will make a further statement on who that judge will be in the new year and we will be discussing with them the composition of the inquiry panel.

We would like to thank each and every person who took the time to respond to the consultation, and to share their views and experiences. We understand how difficult these issues must have been to describe and we are grateful for the frankness and honesty with which people have shared their experiences. The responses to the consultation have been carefully considered by Cabinet Office officials. We can assure the House and everyone who contributed that the findings will be passed to the proposed chair to help inform the discussions regarding the draft terms of reference, on which we expect there will be further consultation.

In accordance with the Inquiries Act 2005, colleagues in the devolved Administrations will be consulted as the terms of reference are finalised.

A further statement will be made in the new year.

Below is the text of the address to troops made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus on 22 December 2017.

I am delighted to be here in Cyprus with all of you today – and to have this opportunity to say a big thank you on behalf of our whole nation for everything that you are doing to keep our country safe by working to bring peace and stability to this region.

And I am especially pleased to be here with you just before Christmas. For at this special time of year it is even more important that you know just how vital your work is – and just how much I appreciate the sacrifices that you and your families make in the service of our country.

Here in Cyprus, you are at the epicentre of so much of our military activity in the region.

It is from here that you have conducted more than 1600 air strikes against Daesh targets and supported more than 1450 personnel working with our allies and partners in Jordan and Iraq to fight Daesh and prevent its re-emergence.

And let’s be clear just what a difference that has made. Just three years ago, Daesh declared a Caliphate in Iraq and Syria: a safe haven in which to carry out the most barbaric acts and from which to plot murder on our streets at home.

But today, thanks in very large part to your efforts, that so-called Caliphate has been crushed and no longer holds significant territory in Iraq or Syria. You should be incredibly proud of that achievement.

While we need to continue to deal directly with the threat they still pose in the region, we also need to focus on training the Iraqi Security Forces so they can keep Daesh out – which is why the work we are doing, and you are supporting, to train over 60,000 Iraqi security personnel is so vital, as I saw first-hand on my visit to Baghdad last month.

It is also from here in Cyprus that you are sustaining our efforts to support the wider stability of our allies in the Middle East.

This includes the expansion of the Quick Reaction Force in Jordan which I visited with King Abdullah in April and discussed with him again when I was in Amman late last month.

Let’s be clear why this matters too. As conflicts and tensions fuel instability across the Middle East, it is not just the security of that region which is threatened, but the whole international order on which global security and prosperity depends.

And as Daesh seeks new ungoverned spaces from which to plot and carry out attacks, it is not just in those spaces that security is at stake but in the UK too.

So it is vital that we support the stability of our partners across the Middle East.

It is also here in Cyprus that our armed forces are working for the United Nations on Operation TOSCA to help keep the peace at the buffer zone through Nicosia.

This is an important part of the work that we are doing in fulfilling our international responsibilities as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.

And I am clear that as a global Britain we will honour those responsibilities and continue to play a leading role in upholding the values and rules of the international order on which we depend.

As part of this, I have committed to ensuring that we continue to meet our NATO commitment to invest 2 per cent of our GDP on defence and to spend 0.7 percent of GNI on development.

But it is you – your professionalism, your courage and your sacrifices that give meaning to the pledges we make as a nation. It is you who take down our enemies and stand by our allies when the going gets tough.

I also want to thank our hosts in Cyprus for all they do to enable you to operate from here. And I think I speak for everyone here when I say that this is a special place – something of a home from home – for the British armed forces.

Finally, as we enter a year that marks the centenary of the end of the First World War – and of course the centenary of the Royal Air Force – I hope you can take great pride not just in what you do, but also in what you are part of.

From its origins as the first entirely separate and independent national air force, fighting over the Western Front from 1st April 1918 – to the leading edge fighter, strike and transport aircraft of today, those of you in the RAF are the present day pioneers of the world’s most iconic air force.

While every one of you here today is part of one of the greatest military forces in the world.

And I hope that as a nation in this special year ahead, we can collectively raise the national consciousness of the work that you do and the sacrifices that you make in the service of others.

As Prime Minister, I will do everything I can to lead the nation in this endeavour.

For you are quite simply the pride of our nation. And that is how you should be treated.

So let me start that mission by thanking you once again for everything that you are doing and by wishing you and your families the best possible Christmas and a happy, safe and successful 2018.

Below is the text of Theresa May’s 2018 New Year Message made on 31 December 2017.

2017 has been a year of progress for the United Kingdom.

In January, I set out our objectives for the Brexit negotiations, and in the months since we have pursued them with steady purpose.

In March we triggered Article 50, putting the decision of the British people into action.

In December we reached agreement on the first phase of negotiations with our EU partners.

Next year we will move on to the vital issues of trade and security, and I am determined that we will keep up our progress in 2018.

Because whichever way you voted in the referendum, most people just want the government to get on and deliver a good Brexit, and that’s exactly what we are doing.

Making a success of Brexit is crucial, but it will not be the limit of our ambitions.

We also have to carry on making a difference here and now on the issues that matter to people’s daily lives.

That means building an economy fit for the future and taking a balanced approach to government spending, so we get our debt falling but can also invest in the things that matter – our schools, our police and our precious NHS.

Our goal is simple: more good jobs in every part of the country, and more opportunities for young people to get on in life.

The first step to a better future is getting a place at a good school.

It’s what every parent expects, and it’s what every child deserves.

So we will build more good schools, keep a tight focus on standards and discipline, and give more help and support to our fantastic teachers.

We will build more homes, so housing becomes more affordable and more families can get on – and climb up – the housing ladder.

And we will protect and enhance our natural environment for the next generation.

2018 is a special year in the life of one of our most cherished institutions, as we will celebrate the 70th birthday of our National Health Service.

It is a year to rededicate ourselves to its founding ideal: that good healthcare should be available to everyone, regardless of income.

And it’s a chance to celebrate the care and compassion of our wonderful NHS staff.

We will continue to invest in our NHS and ensure it can deliver a world-class service now and for generations to come.

As we mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, and remember the tremendous sacrifices of that conflict, the UK will remain a champion of peace and order around the world.

Together with our allies, we will continue the fight against all forms of extremism, and support our security services as they work every day to keep us safe.

When we host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April we’ll work with our partners to tackle global problems like climate change and plastic waste in our oceans.

And as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first votes for women, let’s vow to eliminate all prejudice and discrimination from our society.

Because in the United Kingdom in 2018, everyone deserves the chance to succeed and everyone has a right to be treated with respect.

That means safe workplaces, free from harassment.

And it also means a public sphere where debate is constructive and courteous, and where we treat each other with decency.

Of course any year brings its challenges – that is true for each of us personally, as much as for our country and the world.

But the real test is not whether challenges come; it’s how you face them.

Whether you allow a task to overcome you, or tackle it head on with purpose and resolve.

I believe 2018 can be a year of renewed confidence and pride in our country.

A year in which we continue to make good progress towards a successful Brexit deal, an economy that’s fit for the future, and a stronger and fairer society for everyone.

And whatever challenges we may face, I know we will overcome them by standing united as one proud union of nations and people.

I hope that 2018 is a great year for you and your family – and I wish everyone a very happy new year.

Below is the text of the speech made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, on World Aids Day on 1 December 2017.

On this thirtieth World AIDS Day, I am proud to wear the red ribbon in support of everyone living with HIV.

Since the first World AIDS Day in 1988, treatment and care for people with HIV has been transformed.

Men and women who a generation ago would have been lost are today leading happy and productive lives, and making an enormous contribution to our world.

Valued colleagues and neighbours, much-loved children, friends, and partners are a living testament to how far we have come.

And if we can succeed in making testing and treatment available to all, a final end to HIV transmission and the reality of an AIDS free generation is within our grasp.

As we continue our work towards that goal, we must also bring an end to the stigma which still blights the daily lives of many people with HIV.

This stigma leads to social isolation, lowers self-esteem, and damages mental health.

No one should have to face it – and we all have our part to play in stamping it out.

So on this World AIDS Day, as we remember all those we have lost, and redouble our efforts to end HIV transmission, let’s vow to support everyone who is living with HIV.

And together, let’s end the isolation and end the stigma for good.

Below is the text of the speech made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, in Jordan on 30 November 2017.

Thank you very much for that introduction and it is a great pleasure to be back in Amman and to be making my second visit to Jordan this year.

From the Great Arab Revolt a century ago – when British Forces fought alongside the Hashemite Army of Sharif Hussein, with the help and support of the region’s local Bedouin tribes – to the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan under British Mandate in 1921 and the independent Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in 1946, our two countries and our two peoples have stood resolutely alongside each other.

His Late Majesty King Hussein was crowned one month to the day before our own Queen was crowned in Westminster Abbey. And over the nearly 18 years of His Majesty King Abdullah’s reign, we have continued to stand firmly side by side, including as partners in the Global Coalition against Daesh.

It is true to say that – by virtue of both our shared history and our shared values – there is no country in this region with which the UK feels instinctively closer.

So this further visit is a sign of the priority I have placed on deepening the special friendship between our countries – and the strength of my commitment to supporting the security, stability and prosperity of this entire region.

From trade treaties stretching back to the 17th Century to our alliance in defeating Daesh, the rich and historic relationship between Britain and its allies in the Middle East has been the bedrock of our shared security and prosperity for generations.

And I believe that relationship is every bit as important for our future as it has been for our past.

Today as extremists plot terrorist attacks from this region, they are not only targeting people here in the countries of the Middle East, but targeting people on the streets of Britain too.

As unresolved conflicts and tensions fuel instability across the Middle East, it is not only security here that is threatened, but the whole international order on which global security and prosperity depends.

And as countries here in the Middle East face the generational challenge of creating opportunity and prosperity for all your people – it is in all our interests that your efforts succeed. Not only because your prosperity affects the prosperity of us all – but also because that prosperity is a vital foundation for the long-term stability on which our security depends.

To those who ask if the United Kingdom is in danger of stepping back from the world, I say: nothing could be further from the truth.

We understand that we best defend our values, our interests and our way of life by working together with our international partners to uphold the international rules-based system.

I have a clear message today – for our allies here in Jordan; and for our allies across this region:

We will support you as you confront the threats to your security – and back your vision for societies and economies that will prosper today and play a positive role in the world tomorrow.

And to do this, we are making a new, ambitious and optimistic offer of partnership to support that strength and resilience for the long-term.

A partnership that supports your security, helping you defend and protect your borders and your people from external aggression. A partnership that goes further in seeking to resolve the ongoing violence and political tension across the region. Not just containing current conflicts – but resolving them and in so doing increasing the resilience of the region.

And a partnership which helps you deliver the social and economic reforms that will address many of the underlying causes of this tension and create transformative opportunities for your people – and with it economic security and regional stability.

Security

Our security partnership builds on a strong foundation. Most recently, the UK has been proudly at the forefront of the international coalition that is defeating Daesh in Iraq and Syria.

We have conducted more than 1600 air strikes against Daesh targets, second only to the United States – and we have more than 1450 personnel supporting counter-Daesh operations in the wider region, including over 600 deployed in Iraq. We have trained over 60,000 Iraqi Security Forces on everything from countering IEDs to engineering, logistics, and combat medical support.

And under my leadership we remain profoundly and unequivocally committed to supporting the security of this entire region – for example, with our Royal Navy continuing to patrol the Gulf as it has done for decades.

Yesterday I was in Iraq – where I was the first British Prime Minister to visit in nine years. This visit was a clear statement that while we must draw lessons from our history of engagement in the region, we will not let the challenges of the past prevent us from doing what is right for the future. I am determined that Britain will engage in the most pressing regional and global issues, in our interests, in the region’s, and in line with our responsibilities as a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council.

I made it clear in my discussions with Prime Minister Abadi that for as long as the Iraqis want and need it, the UK will continue to be a fully committed security partner.

This includes continuing to train Iraqi forces and investing a further £10 million over the next three years in strengthening Iraqi counter-terrorism capabilities. And it involves working with partners across the region – including Jordan – to develop the capabilities that can help to counter the dispersal of foreign fighters as Daesh is squeezed out of its so called ‘caliphate’.

We will also continue to support the Iraqi government as it seeks to deliver the reforms needed to rebuild public trust in a unified and sovereign Iraqi state, while at the same time recognising that the UK has a long-standing relationship with the Kurds as vital partners in the fight against terrorism. We encourage the Iraqi government to respond positively to the new Kurdish leadership, and we encourage the Kurds to respect the Iraqi Federal Court ruling that the referendum was unconstitutional.

We call on both sides to move quickly to negotiations of outstanding differences on the basis of the constitution – and I welcome the reassurance that Prime Minster Abadi gave me that this dialogue was already underway. And we urge the Iraqi people to ensure that next year’s crucial elections contribute to reconciliation and the creation of a more representative political landscape that can unite Iraq against all forms of extremism and hatred.

Today I want to assure you that my commitment to Jordanian security will be at the heart of our efforts in this region.

So far this year, we have seen four major UK military exercises with over 3,000 UK personnel in Jordan and over 350 Jordanian personnel taking part in 19 different military courses in the UK.

Jordanian police trained by UK-funded experts are patrolling the streets in Mafraqand in the refugee camps in Zaatari and Azraq, helping to keep communities safe.

And on my visit to the headquarters of the Quick Reaction Force with His Majesty King Abdullah in April, I was delighted to announce an uplift in the UK’s security assistance including additional support to help deliver an expansion of that Force to three units.

Following that visit we have also invested in better air land integration; in further enhancing Jordanian intelligence; and in helping Jordan to meet its ambition of a fully co-ordinated National Threat System. And over the next few months we will be working to help improve security in tourist areas and developing new strands of police co-operation.

As we move towards the collapse of the so-called caliphate of Daesh in Iraq and Syria, so we need to adapt our response as they move to new battlefields. We have to defeat the ideologues who fuel the hatred of Islamist extremism wherever they are found. So I very much welcome the development of your national strategy to counter violent extremism. And I pay tribute to His Majesty King Abdullah for his leadership in confronting the ideologies of extremism, as well as the latest in the series of conferences that His Majesty is hosting this weekend in Aqaba this weekend to ensure that we in the international community combat terrorism in a coordinated way.

We must also step up our efforts to crack down on terrorist use of the internet. Tech companies have made significant progress on this issue, and I welcome Facebook’s recent announcement on the use of artificial intelligence to improve the detection of terrorist content and speed of its removal. But we need to continue our efforts to go further and faster to reduce the time it takes to remove terrorist content online, and to stop it being uploaded in the first place.

And, we must confront new and increasingly diffuse threats as foreign fighters disperse and Daesh becomes increasingly active and turns to insurgency within the region – as we saw so tragically only last week, with the despicable murder of more than 300 Muslims who were praying in a Mosque in Egypt. A sickening attack that showed once again how this evil extremist ideology which we face together takes no account of race or religion – and indeed has murdered more Muslims than people of any other faith.

Addressing instability in the region

However, as we see Daesh seeking new ungoverned spaces from which to plot and carry out attacks, it will not be enough alone to deepen our security cooperation. We must also renew our partnership to address the ongoing conflicts in the region which they and others exploit.

Here in Jordan, we see clearly the challenges that the instability from Syria poses. You have the admiration and respect of the whole world for the extraordinary compassion, generosity and humanity that you have shown towards the hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled into your country.

As Her Majesty Queen Rania remarked recently in an important speech: “without compassion, we weaken the foundations of our common humanity”.

I am proud of the contribution that the UK has made in helping you provide this compassionate response. We have provided over three quarters of a billion dollars in Jordan – both for vital health and education facilities for those displaced by the fighting and also to address the needs of host communities. And we will continue to play a full role in supporting you to protect refugees.

Of course we must strengthen your security and support you in dealing with the effects of instability, which is why we are spending £25 million to help stabilise the Southern Syria De-Escalation Area on the Jordanian border and why we must continue to support the UN agencies to deliver aid across the border to the millions in desperate need. But ultimately only a lasting political solution in Syria will neutralise this terrorist threat and allow the refugees you are hosting to return home. That is why the international community must stop creating rival processes, and unite behind a single UN-led process in Geneva that will bring about an end to the conflict through a genuine transition to a new democratic, inclusive​ and legitimate government. After having overseen the deaths of hundreds of thousands of his countrymen, women and children, surely none of us can imagine that a government led by Bashar Al Assad could claim such legitimacy.

But it is not just Daesh and Asad’s regime that are a threat to Syria’s stability. Iran is showing that it is more interested in bolstering its role in the region, and that of its proxy Hezbollah, than finding a lasting peace in Syria.

And Iran’s destabilising activity goes beyond Syria. Their previous attempts to acquire a nuclear weapon posed a threat to the international non-proliferation system on which wider international security depends. That is why we must stand firm in our support for the nuclear deal. This deal was the culmination of 13 years of diplomacy and a major step towards ensuring that Iran’s nuclear programme is not diverted for military purposes. It is vitally important for our shared security.

Equally I am clear that the JCPoA only addresses one aspect of Iran’s threat in this region. We must therefore strengthen our response to Iran’s ballistic missile programme and its proliferation of weapons. This includes in Yemen, where it is unacceptable for the Houthis to fire missiles at Riyadh. In my meeting in Riyadh last night with Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman I agreed that we would increase our work with Saudi Arabia to address this. I welcome the ongoing UN investigation into the source of the missiles and the international community must be resolute in its response to the findings.

However, as we and our allies seek to protect ourselves, we cannot lose sight of the millions of Yemenis experiencing appalling suffering for a war that has little to do with them. For decades the people of Yemen have suffered through civil wars, through Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula using their country as a launch-pad for attacks across the world, and most recently through renewed internal power struggles. The people of Yemen must no longer be caught in the crossfire.

Today almost a third of Yemen’s entire population is at risk of deep food insecurity. This dire situation must end. The UK will work with our partners to do everything possible to achieve this.

We will continue as the third largest humanitarian donor to the crisis in Yemen, increasing our contribution to £155 million for 2017/18 and pressing the whole international community to do more.

But I am also clear that the flow of commercial supplies on which the country depends must be resumed if we are to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. During my discussions with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh last night, we agreed that steps needed to be taken as a matter of urgency to address this and that we would take forward more detailed discussions on how this could be achieved. And, following the Foreign Secretary-hosted talks in London this week, we will also intensify efforts with all parties to bring a political settlement that will bring sustainable security for Saudi Arabia and for Yemen.

The price of failure to resolve such conflicts is nowhere more apparent than with the Middle East Peace Process. With over 2 million Palestinian refugees living here in Jordan, you understand better than anyone the vital importance of getting the peace process back on track and the impact this would have on enabling all of our partners in the region to come together to face their common threats.

The UK has an historic role in the search for a just and lasting settlement. We remain absolutely committed to doing everything we can to support both sides to achieve a peace deal which must be based on a two-state solution, with a viable and sovereign Palestinian state alongside a safe and secure Israel.

And in this centenary year of the Balfour declaration, I have acknowledged that this remains a sensitive issue for Palestinians and many other people today. But just as I have been clear that we are proud of Britain’s role in the creation of the State of Israel – so I have also been clear that we must address the suffering of Palestinians affected and dislodged by Israel’s birth.

Just as we urge countries to stand up against threats to Israel and we are clear that incitement to violence and denial of Israel’s right to exist must stop, so I am clear that those actions of the Israeli government which create an obstacle to peace – not least illegal settlement construction – must also stop.

Across all these sources of instability in the region, we will work with you: not trying to impose Western solutions, but reliant on you and key partners across the Middle East and North Africa to show the bold leadership that can resolve these issues, and backing your efforts to deliver the political solutions that are so essential to solving the conflicts in this region.

Long-term prosperity for the region

These efforts to bolster your security and resolve today’s conflicts will not alone bring the long-term stability that we all want to see. So finally, we must also build our partnership to create economic prosperity now and into the future.

Across the Middle East, populations are growing rapidly to the extent that well over 50 per cent of the population is now made up of the under 24s. Here in Jordan your population has grown from 2 million in the 1980s to 10 million today; with over 40 per cent under the age of 15.

At the same time, the revenue streams of many states have been significantly reduced with the declining value of fossil fuels. All of this places immense strain on governments, social structures and services across the region. Inevitably tough choices have to be made, and these in turn risk creating political instability and provide fertile ground for extremism to prey on the most vulnerable.

Leaders across the region are recognising and stepping up to meet these challenges.

Yesterday I discussed Saudi Arabia’s ambitious reform programme: Vision 2030 with His Majesty King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman.

There are similarly ambitious visions across much of the region including in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

And, of course, here in Jordan King Abdullah has set out his 2025 vision – seeking to build self-reliance, as he told your Parliament earlier this month, and making your economy more competitive and better able to provide jobs and to give hope to the next generation.

A fundamental part of the United Kingdom’s new offer is a step-change in our support for these reforms.

Drawing on the full capability of the government and our private sector, we will back your visions for social and economic transformation with the potentially far-reaching benefits they bring. And in doing so, we will champion steps towards greater rights and openness, while also being realistic about the speed at which lasting change can happen and the necessary balance between stability and progress.

Think of the new trade you that can pioneer across the world, the new jobs for your young people, and the impact that Jordan and its partners can have in shaping the future.

And think of the opportunities for Jordan to become a focal point for new business, new services and new investment to assist the reconstruction of Syria when that longed-for political solution is finally achieved.

The potential for transformative change is very real if we get this right.

But, as His Majesty King Abdullah himself has said, we have enough visions and strategies. We now need to get on with delivering them – implementation is key.

So the United Kingdom will offer all we can to support you in doing exactly that.

The sustained economic partnership I am proposing today goes far beyond our role in supporting you to protect refugees. I come here today to propose a new long-term partnership to support your economic, social and political resilience, to improve education and to empower the private sector in helping to deliver jobs and opportunities for people across Jordan.

The Jordan Compact we agreed at the London Conference on Syria two years ago not only provided significant humanitarian assistance but also put in place a new approach harnessing the private sector and concessional financing to create jobs for refugees and Jordanians alike and boost Jordan’s economy. Building on this approach, we want to do more to support Jordan’s resilience. We will use the full breadth of our international relationships and our position in multi-lateral financial institutions such as the IMF and World Bank to leverage the largest possible global financial backing for your vision 2025 reforms.

We will mobilise partnerships between British and Jordanian businesses, focusing on our shared expertise in services, and working to deliver an ambitious post-Brexit trade deal between our two countries.

And we will set up a joint senior policy dialogue on economic reform to maintain the momentum that we begin today.

For our own part, I am today committing an initial £94.5 million to support Jordan’s economic resilience – including £60 million in investment grants, support for critical infrastructure projects, essential skills training and support to improve the quality of education.

And this is just the start of a significant increase in our funding for Jordan’s resilience, which will go on to include support for the reform of government, the growth of private sector investment and the creation of safety nets to ensure that no-one loses out from these reforms.

We will also continue to support the educational reforms that King Abdullah and Queen Rania have so bravely pioneered, and which I saw first-hand when I met the Minister for Education here in April.

Of course, all of this is built on the principle that Jordan will deliver the political, social and economic reforms that His Majesty King Abdullah has set out.

But with His Majesty’s leadership I am confident that you can do so. His Majesty has talked of incremental reform – but it is no less ambitious or important for that.

At its heart is tolerance for different views, active citizenship, equal access to justice, fighting corruption and deepening democracy. These are the principles that His Majesty the King has set out. Our partnership is not about reinventing those principles but supporting them.

These are reforms made in Jordan, by Jordan and for Jordan. And we want them to succeed.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the challenges facing Jordan – and many of the countries in this region – are possibly some of the greatest that you have faced in many years.

But I believe that if you see through the reforms you have set out, there is every reason to be optimistic about the future ahead.

Optimistic that you can build economies and societies that generate opportunity and prosperity for your people.

And optimistic that you can deliver the stability in this region on which the security and prosperity of the wider world depends.

And throughout it all, you can be sure of one thing above all else: Britain will be a partner you can depend on – with you every step of the way.

Thank you.