January 31, 2020
Watch the official Prime Minister’s Address to the Nation on Friday 31 January on his Facebook Page.
Prime Ministers in the past have often addressed the nation at moments of great importance. And, certainly, leaving the European Union is a momentous point in our country’s history.
Boris Johnson will deliver an address from 10 Downing Street to mark leaving the EU. The address will be shared on the Prime Minister’s Facebook Page at 10pm. The Prime Minister is expected to convey a message of unity, to bring the country together as we move into a new beginning for our United Kingdom and deliver on our manifesto promises.
On Friday, we will leave the EU, delivering on our promise to the British people to get Brexit done and unleash the potential of the whole United Kingdom.
By getting Brexit done, we will be putting the rancour and division of the past three years behind us. We will be able to focus on delivering a bright, exciting future.
We will be able to make this a decade of renewal for the whole of the UK – delivering more money for our NHS, cracking down on crime, and giving our young people the best start in life with more money for schools.
By leaving the European Union, we can start to rebuild trust in our politics, and we will continue to work around the clock to repay the trust that people have placed in us to deliver on their priorities.
This week we have already made progress. The new Fisheries Bill introduced to Parliament allows us to take back control of our waters and create a sustainable, profitable fishing industry for our coastal communities.
The Bill delivers a legal guarantee the UK will leave the Common Fisheries Policy at the end of the Transition Period in December 2020 – allowing the UK to control who may fish in our waters and on what terms for the first time since 1973.
And earlier this week we have announced a new fast track visa scheme that will help to attract the world’s top scientists, ensuring the UK remains a world leader in research and innovation.
The Prime Minister said about the new visa scheme:
“As we leave the EU I want to send a message that the UK is open to the most talented minds in the world, and stand ready to support them to turn their ideas into reality.”
The Prime Minister’s address to the nation is just one of a number of events that will take place on Friday 31st January to mark Brexit Day.
Government buildings in Whitehall will be lit up in red, white and blue, the colours of the United Kingdom. Parliament Square and Pall Mall will also be decorated with British flags.
At 11pm, the hour that Britain officially leaves the EU, a commemorative light display will commence in Downing St with a countdown clock projected onto Number 10.
New 50p coins minted to mark Brexit will come into circulation on Friday. Over three million of these coins will enter banks, shops and restaurants with a further seven million entering circulation later this year. The Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be among the first to receive one.
Boris Johnson has said:
"Next Friday marks an important moment in the history of our United Kingdom.
"No matter how you voted in 2016, it is the time to look ahead with confidence to the global, trail-blazing country we will become over the next decade and heal past divisions.
"That is what I will be doing on 31 January and I urge everyone across the UK to do the same."
Commenting, Therese Coffey, Secretary of State for the Department of Work and Pensions, said:
“Corbyn’s Pension Tax will see ten million savers facing a huge bill forcing them to delay their retirement for almost three and a half years.
“This is just one of the ways a Corbyn government would hammer hardworking people on top of his plans to hike up taxes by £2,400 a year, as well as the cost of his plan for unlimited immigration and the chaos of 2020 being dominated by two more referendums – one on Brexit and another on Scottish independence.
“Only Boris Johnson and the Conservative Party can get Brexit done with a deal, get parliament working again and turbocharge our economy to unleash Britain’s potential.”
Read more about how this Pension Tax will impact millions of savers (PDF)
