Boris Johnson hails new Parliament as ‘a vast improvement’ and vows not to waste time as MPs return to Commons

Boris Johnson trumpeted the new Parliament as a “vast improvement” on the last and pledged to not “waste the time of the nation” as MPs returned to the Commons. 

The Prime Minister insisted voters returned “one of the best Parliaments this country has ever produced” following his landslide election victory last week . 

As he marked the return of MPs to the House of Commons, Mr Johnson praised Parliament’s diversity and also vowed for it “to get Brexit done”, with the Withdrawal Agreement Bill set to be brought back on Friday .

The PM congratulated Sir Lindsay Hoyle on his re-election as Speaker, before saying: “Mr Speaker, I don’t know what you think, but I mean absolutely no disrespect to those who are no longer with us but I think that this Parliament is a vast improvement on its predecessor.

“Mr Speaker, I would say it is one of the best Parliaments that this country has ever produced, with more female members than ever before, more black and minority ethnic members than ever before.

“And it is also Mr Speaker, and incarnated in your person Mr Speaker, it is a vastly more democratic Parliament.”

Commenting on the determination to move forward with Brexit, he added: “Because this Parliament is not going to waste the time of the nation in deadlock and division and delay, on Friday of this week this Parliament is going to put the Withdrawal Agreement in the popty ping as we say in Wales, and then this new democratic Parliament, this people’s Parliament is going to do something, Mr Speaker.

“I wonder if you can guess what it is that this Parliament is going to do when we put the Withdrawal Agreement back. We’re going to get Brexit done.”

He also repeated campaign pledges on the NHS, education and police. 

“I can tell the House that after three-and-a-half years of wrangling and division, we in this Government will do whatever we can to reach out across the House to find common ground, to heal the divisions of our country and to find a new and generous spirit in which we conduct all our political dealings with one another that will last beyond this immediate season of Christmas goodwill,” said Mr Johnson. 

Prior to these comments, he spoke of the London Bridge terror attack  and paid tributes to the victims. 

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn did the same, before he reminded the PM of the “tremendous responsibilities” he had to keep to. 

Mr Corbyn also said: “The Prime Minister in the campaign made many, many promises and therefore has tremendous responsibilities to live up to.

“He will be judged on whether he keeps those promises or not by the communities that he has made them to.”

The discussion in the Commons came after Mr Johnson hailed his inner circle as a “People’s Cabinet”  during a meeting in Downing Street.

The PM chaired both a political and a normal Cabinet meeting for the first time after winning a majority of 80.