LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Boris Johnson has recorded a clip for broadcasters about the results. He began by praising Conservative councillors and stating that the results were “mixed.”
He described the situation in some sections of the country as difficult.
However, very surprising advances in places that had not voted Conservative in a long time, if ever, were seen in other areas.
The findings, he added, sent a message to him that people want him to focus on “the big issues that matter to them.”
According to Johnson,
It’s the mid-term. The outcomes are obviously mixed.
In some sections of the country, they had a rough night, but in others, it could still be seen that Conservatives were moving forward and making significant gains in locations where they hadn’t voted Conservative in a long time, if ever.
The main lesson from it was that this was a message from voters that what they wanted them to do above all – one, two and three – was focus on the important issues that mattered to them, taking the country forward, ensuring they fixed the aftershock of post-Covid, got them all through the economic aftershocks in the way they got through Covid, fix the energy supply matters, that was where the inflationary spike was coming, and keep going with their agenda of high wage, high skill jobs. That was where they were concentrating their efforts.
Johnson believes that his government is undertaking significant, challenging tasks
When asked why he opposes a windfall tax on oil companies, Johnson says he has discussed it with Shell and BP executives. He believes he needs them to massively invest in green energy, to assure reliable supply.
It is preferable for them to invest that money in green energy sources in order to ensure that “this country is protected in the future.” He continues:
This government is known for doing big, tough things.
As examples, he mentions the completion of Brexit and the vaccination rollout.
He claims that “clobbering” energy corporations will not provide a reliable energy supply.
Johnson stated he had spoken with the head of both BP and Shell yesterday. Their message to them was crystal clear, ‘Guys, you know, this is a moment when we need you, as a country, to invest massively in clean, green renewables, in the stuff that is going to make a difference to people’s energy prices’.
They didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of former governments, which included failing to invest in their energy supply, as he just mentioned. That was the message they were sending to the major energy firms.
And, frankly, it was preferable for them to take that money and invest it in wind farms, hydrogen, and other projects that would help them manage with the global energy price surge, and, above all, ensure that the country was safeguarded in the future so that they had more long-term energy security.
