Brexit

Tonight we are leaving the European Union. For many people this is an astonishing moment of hope, a moment they thought would never come and there are many of course who feel a sense of anxiety and loss. And then of course there is a third group -- perhaps the biggest -- who had started to worry that the whole political wrangle would never come to an end.

... We will spread hope and opportunity to every part of the UK and if we can get this right I believe that with every month that goes by we will grow in confidence not just at home but abroad and in our diplomacy, in our fight against climate change, in our campaigns for human rights or female education or free trade we will rediscover muscles that we have not used for decades. The power of independent thought and action.

... Now is the time to use those tools to unleash the full potential of this brilliant country and to make better the lives of everyone in every corner of our United Kingdom.

-- Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in a statement issued as the United Kingdom formally exited the European Union today, 31 January 2020