U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday pledged to invest 14 billion UK pounds (17.2 billion US dollars) in Britain’s primary and secondary education sector, and repeated his election promise to build 40 new hospitals following the coronavirus pandemic.
Johnson made the announcement during a speech at a college in Dudley in the West Midlands, where he also outlined the government’s plans for recovery in a post-coronavirus environment.
The PM said the £14 billion plan will span from now until 2023, and will include £1 billion to build 50 new schools and £1.5 billion for further education.
During the speech, the Prime Minister claimed that the Health Secretary would be setting out plans for hospitals this week, while the Chancellor Rishi Sunak would be setting out the immediate plan for recovery next week.
Johnson also promised to “fix the problems” in the care home sector, which he said “every government has flunked for the last 30 years”, adding that he would “end the injustice” that some members of the public have to sell their homes to finance retirement care.
During his speech, the Prime Minister also warned that the coronavirus pandemic had not come to an end, referencing a local flare up in Leicester.
The Prime Minister also used his speech to criticise those campaigning to review or remove statues of controversial historical figures, as seen during an anti-racist demonstration in the south west city of Bristol on 7 June, when protesters tore down the statue of the 17th century slave trader Edward Colston.
“I don’t believe in tearing people down any more than I believe in tearing down statues that are part of our heritage”, Johnson said, also referencing calls for the removal of the statue of Winston Churchill from Parliament Square, who he called “our greatest wartime leader.”
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