THE UK is one of the most successful countries on earth and has the financial strength to get through the cost-of-living crisis, Boris Johnson has insisted.
As the UK face months of soaring energy bills, double-digit inflation and an economy heading into a potentially lengthy recession, but Johnson defended the legacy he would be leaving his successor next week.
Asked whether Britain was “broken” in the final days of his leadership, he responded: “Absolutely not. This country has got an incredible future and has everything going for it.
“Look at the place that people want to invest in. Which is the country that attracts more venture capital investment now than China? It’s the United Kingdom.
“Which country has, I think, more billion-pound start-up tech companies than France, than Germany, than Israel put together? It is the United Kingdom.
“Why do people want to come here? Because it is the place to be.
“What we’re doing now, and what I’m proud that we’ve done over the last three years or so, is put in a lot of things that will make this country fit for the future.”
READ MORE: Boris Johnson could head to Scotland this week in UK-wide farewell tour
The Prime Minister will leave office on Tuesday, handing power to either Liz Truss or Rishi Sunak following the outcome of the Tory leadership contest.
Speaking outside a police station in Lewisham, south-east London, Johnson reeled off a list of his apparent achievements.
“We’ve got investments that we’re making in this country that are going to make it fit for the future,” he said.
“I’m talking about three new high-speed lines: the biggest rail investment for more than 100 years.
“Investment in gigabit broadband: giving people access to 21st-century communications. Fantastic progress from 7% coverage when I became Prime Minister to 70% today.”
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He said that because of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine “we have pressures on the cost of living” but “we have the financial strength to get through them”.
“What we’re also doing is making sure that we have the long-term British energy supplies that we need to get our people through,” he added.
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