Cabinet Readout - Tuesday 9 July

The Prime Minister opened Cabinet by thanking Secretaries of States and departments for the sense of purpose that they delivered in the first few days of the Government. He updated on his tour of the United Kingdom and positive meetings with the leaders of the three devolved governments and twelve metro Mayors this morning.

The Prime Minister said the Government is committed to resetting our relationships and working together in the spirit of public service to unlock growth and rebuild our country as one United Kingdom – and that the intention set by these meetings shows we are moving in the right direction already.

Turning to the NATO summit, the Prime Minister said this is another opportunity to reset relationships, reinvigorate our unshakeable commitment to the alliance and demonstrate the strength of Britain on the world stage.

The Foreign Secretary said the NATO summit was a key opportunity to demonstrate the UK's commitment on defence spending, our ironclad support to Ukraine, and mark the 75^th anniversary of the UK's role in establishing the world's largest defence alliance.

The Defence Secretary updated on his early visit to Ukraine, where he met with senior people in the Ukrainian government and spent over two hours in discussions with President Zelenskyy, where he made clear the UK will continue to play a leading role in support of Ukraine and make good on our commitments.

Finally, Cabinet discussed the Chancellor's speech yesterday. The Prime Minister said growth is the central national mission of this Government, and that the Chancellor's speech made clear on our intent to deliver.

The Chancellor said that it is only with sustained economic growth that we can boost living standards and fund our public services, and it was important to her that her first speech was therefore about economic growth. Had the UK economy grown at the average rate of OECD economies since 2010, it would have been £140bn larger, equivalent to £5,000 per household, and that would have brought in £58bn extra in tax revenues to fund our public services.