Boris Johnson has said the Government is ready to take “big, bold decisions” to rebuild the country after the ravages of Covid.

As Conservatives gathered in Manchester for the start of the party’s annual conference, the Prime Minister promised “decisive action” on jobs, crime and health and social care.

“We didn’t go through Covid to go back to how things were before – to the status quo ante. Build back better means we want things to change and improve as we recover,” he said in a statement.

“That means taking the big, bold decisions on the priorities people care about – like on social care, on supporting jobs, on climate change, tackling crime and levelling up.

“This Conservative Government has a track record of delivering on the people’s priorities: we got Brexit done and secured a deal with the EU – keeping our election promise.

“On Covid, we rolled out unprecedented levels of economic support, protecting livelihoods and keeping businesses afloat.

“And thanks to our NHS, scientists and so many others, our successful vaccine rollout has saved thousands of lives, prevented countless hospitalisations and has allowed the economy and society to begin returning to normality.

“All of this shows we are delivering – and now it is time to go further – not only to recover, but to build back better – with decisive action on more jobs, more police and supporting health and social care.”