British Prime Minister Boris Johnson finished his final Prime Minister's Questions in parliament on Wednesday with words and advice for his successor and a typical rhetorical flourish, telling lawmakers in his speech: "Hasta la vista, baby."
Johnson was forced to announce his resignation earlier this month after a series of scandals rocked his government, and his own honesty and integrity were called into question. A leadership election for his successor within the ruling Conservative Party is currently underway.
Johnson's words of advice for his successor were: "Number one, stay close to the Americans, stick up for the Ukrainians, stick up for freedom and democracy everywhere. Cut taxes and deregulate wherever you can to make this the greatest place to live and invest, which it is.
"I love the Treasury but remember that if we'd always listened to the Treasury, we wouldn't have built the M25 or the Channel tunnel. Focus on the road ahead but always remember to check the rearview mirror. Remember, above all, it's not Twitter that counts. It's the people that sent us here."
He then looked back on his time in office, saying: "Yes, the last few years have been the greatest privilege of my life. It's true that I helped to get the biggest Tory majority for 40 years and a huge realignment in UK politics, Mr. Speaker.
"We've transformed our democracy and restored our national independence, as my right honorable friend says. I've helped to get this country through a pandemic and helped save another country from barbarism and frankly that's enough to be going on with."
"Mission largely accomplished, for now," Johnson said, adding: "I want to thank everybody here, and hasta la vista, baby."
Members of his party, who only recently forced him to resign, gave him a standing ovation as he left the chamber of the House of Commons.
Earlier in Prime Minister's Questions, Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party, pressed Johnson on claims against his government made by those vying to replace him as party leader and prime minister.
Starmer said the Conservative leadership candidates had "trashed every part of their record in government."
"I think the message coming out of this leadership contest is pretty clear," Starmer said. "They've got us into this mess and they've got no idea how to get us out of it," the Labour leader told Johnson.
"They have trashed every part of their record in government, from dental care and ambulance response times to the highest taxes in 70 years," Starmer said. "What message does it send when the candidates to be prime minister can't find a single decent thing to say about him, about each other or their record in government?"
Johnson shot back: "What does it say about him that no one can name a single policy after three years of Labour opposition, apart from putting up taxes?"
The outgoing prime minister also referred to the rollout of the COVID vaccine under his government, as well as his Brexit deal, among his achievements.
UK inflation rate hit 9.4% earlier in the day, a 40-year record. Citing this latest economic data, Starmer said Johnson "has decided to come down from his gold-wallpapered bunker one last time to tell us that everything's fine. I am going to miss the delusion."
Johnson, using the British term for a short post used to block traffic entering an area, replied to Starmer by saying: "Every time something needs to be done, they try to oppose it. He's a great, pointless human bollard."
The new leader of the Conservative Party, and in turn prime minister, will be announced on Sept. 5, 2022.
