00:00So, good morning ladies and gentlemen and welcome and thank you.
00:05Thank you for joining us for what I believe will be a very significant day in British
00:10political history.
00:12Now today we are delighted to launch
00:15Prosper UK, a new political movement that is firm
00:20ly rooted in the centre right of British politics.
00:25And today is all about taking the battle to the populists.
00:30You've heard, you've read the commentators who say the drift to populists
00:35of the left and the right is inevitable across the West.
00:40And democracies.
00:41Our message today is that we thoroughly reject
00:45that in the case of Britain.
00:48And we do so with very...
00:50hard evidence.
00:51I'm pleased to say you should have a little pack headed...
00:55more in common.
00:56And that shows you the first bits of...
01:00research that we have done to support our case.
01:04The first...
01:05The first graph asks Britons to position themselves on the...
01:10spectrum of left to right.
01:12And if the march of the populists was happening...
01:15you'd see a trough, wouldn't you?
01:16With the emphasis on the extremes.
01:19The opposite...
01:20is true.
01:21The huge majority of Britons still consider...
01:25themselves to be of the centre and indeed of the centre right.
01:30And if you look at the next chart, which is provided as well by more in...
01:35common, that renowned pollster group, and indeed Luke Trill, their boss is...
01:40here today, and we'll take any brief questions a little later on as well.
01:44That's...
01:45The second graph, which is from a big survey, shows that all of those who consider themselves...
01:50to be centre or centre right, over a third of them say that...
01:55currently, no political party represents their views.
02:00That's 7 million people.
02:02By any measure, that's a very...
02:05big group of people, a big market you'd say, in business language, who might describe themselves...
02:10as politically homeless.
02:11And just to size that, remember the last...
02:15general election, less than 7 million people actually voted Conservative.
02:20And then if we turn to what you might describe as...
02:21...attractive...
02:22And then if we turn to what you might describe as...
02:25...attractive...
02:25...attitudes, response to this situation, there's a very big difference.
02:30in how we respond to that, between Prosper UK and the populists.
02:35We all acknowledge there are many, many challenges in Britain, whether it be for young people...
02:40driving families, that many would say Britain doesn't work as well as it should be.
02:45But the populist response is, of course, to tear it all down.
02:50To divide, to destroy, and have that phrase, broken Britain.
02:55Our response is completely different.
02:58To acknowledge the difficulties...
03:00...of course.
03:01But then rebuild on the firm foundations of...
03:05...principles, of values, of institutions of British culture.
03:10And our job is to do the hard work about how that rebuilding will occur.
03:15And that hard work starts with our ideas around the economy...
03:20...and around business.
03:21Because without those areas of thriving, we will never...
03:25...address all of the other issues facing us.
03:30And today is also about the choice facing this country.
03:35And we want to move the choice on, from a choice between a failing Labour government and...
03:40...the populists.
03:41We are very clear and we need to be transparent about this.
03:45...from the start.
03:46We are all fervent, proud Conservatives.
03:50Committed Conservatives.
03:51And we believe the future has to be with...
03:55...of the Conservative government.
03:56We are supported, of course, by independent business people.
04:00So it's that mix of Conservatives and business that comes together today.
04:05But we're saying to our party, as indeed committed Conservatives.
04:10It will succeed more if it re-embraces...
04:15...those traditional centre-right routes.
04:19Because it is where it has been...
04:20...in a broad church that it has been the most successful.
04:25So Prosper's job is to get out across the country...
04:30...to listen, to research, to advocate and to galvanise...
04:35...a grassroots movement.
04:38And then come forward with...
04:40...posed ideas and solutions.
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