Boris Johnson has been officially appointed as UK’s new prime minister. Speaking outside Downing Street, he said he wanted to “change the country for the better”.
He said the UK would leave the EU on 31 October “no ifs, no buts”, adding: “The buck stops with me.”
“The doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters” who said it could not be done were “wrong”, the new PM added.
He also promised to sort out care for the elderly “once and for all”, and invest in transport and education.
Reforms to the social care sector have eluded previous governments because of their cost and complexity.
“We will fix it once and for all with a clear plan we have prepared to give every older person the dignity and security they deserve,” he insisted.
Mr Johnson listed a wide range of domestic ambitions, including improving infrastructure, recruiting 20,000 new police officers and “levelling up” school spending. He also promised reforms to ensure the £20bn in extra funding earmarked for the NHS “really gets to the front line”.
He pledged to boost the UK’s biotech and space science sectors, change the tax rules to provide incentives for investment, and do more to promote the welfare of animals.
The new PM will shortly begin announcing some senior cabinet appointments, and is currently meeting ministers whom he plans to dismiss at his offices in Parliament.
In a surprise move, Defence Secretary Penny Mordaunt, a leading Brexiteer who is popular across the party, has been sacked.