Facing Crises, UK PM Boris Johnson Says He Will Take "Bold Decisions"

Boris Johnson had wanted to use the conference this week to turn the page on more than 18 months of COVID-19 and to refocus on his 2019 election pledges to tackle regional inequality, crime and social care.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will promise on Sunday to take "big, bold decisions" to transform post-Covid Britain, hoping to set the tone of the governing Conservative Party's conference already buffeted by fuel, gas and Christmas food crises.

Johnson had wanted to use the conference this week to turn the page on more than 18 months of COVID-19 and to refocus on his 2019 election pledges to tackle regional inequality, crime and social care.

Instead, the prime minister finds himself on the back foot more than nine months since Britain completed its exit from the European Union - a departure he said would hand the country the freedom to better shape its economy.

He is now faced with an outcry by those unable to fill up their cars with petrol, by retailers who fear there may be shortages of Christmas fare and by gas companies struggling with a spike in wholesale prices.