Circumstances

The main circumstances of Boris Johnson’s first speech as PM are related to him becoming Prime Minister of the UK after his predecessor, Theresa May, stepped down. May’s resignation came after her plan for Britain’s EU exit was rejected by the British Parliament several times, thus delaying Britain leaving the EU. Johnson mentions May’s efforts to deliver Brexit and the Parliament deadlock at the beginning of his speech (ll. 5-7). 

Here, Johnson also hints that the deadlock has created mistrust in the government’s ability to deliver Brexit, both in Britain and abroad. At the time of Johnson’s speech, the set date for Britain exiting the EU was 31st of October 2019. By mentioning “the old arguments of 2016” (l. 6), Johnson also suggests that the debate over Britain’s withdrawal from the EU was ongoing at the time of his speech because ...