LONDON - Accused of allegedly mishandling his government's response to the coronavirus pandemic, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has sought to regain the initiative by vowing to transform his country's economy, boost its educational standards and expand the availability of newly-built homes in order to address rising house prices.

"We've been through too much frustration and hardship just to settle for the status quo and to think that life can go on as it was before the plague," he told his ruling Conservative Party's annual conference on Tuesday (Oct 6).