Prime Minister will today (Monday 28 October)
pledge that his government's first Budget will put Britain on a
new path, one that chooses long-term growth to put more money in
working people's pockets and rebuild public services instead of a
return to austerity.
Setting out the defining and central purpose of the
government's agenda to protect working people from the dire
inheritance, he will say:
“It is working people who pay the price when their government
fails to deliver economic stability. They've had enough of slow
growth, stagnant living standards and crumbling public services.
They know that austerity is no solution. And they've seen the
chaos when politicians let borrowing get out of control.
“We choose a different path: honest, responsible, long-term
decisions in the interests of working people. It's stability that
means we can invest, and reform that will maximise that
investment.
“Stability, investment, reform. That's how we fix the NHS,
rebuild Britain and protect working people's payslips. Delivering
on the mandate of change.”
The Prime Minister will say that the country faces
unprecedented challenges after last government covered up the
state of the public finances and crumbling public
services:
“We have to be realistic about where we are as a country. This is
not 1997, when the economy was decent but public services were on
their knees. And it's not 2010, where public services were
strong, but the public finances were weak. These are
unprecedented circumstances.
“And that's before we even get to the long-term challenges
ignored for fourteen years. An economy riddled with weakness on
productivity and investment. A state that needs urgent
modernisation to face down the challenge of a volatile world.
“But I won't offer it as an excuse. I expect to be judged on my
ability to deal with this. Politics is always a choice. It's time
to choose a clear path, and embrace the harsh light of fiscal
reality so we can come together behind a credible, long-term
plan. It's time we ran towards the tough decisions, because
ignoring them set us on the path of decline. It's time we ignored
the populist chorus of easy answers… we're never going back to
that.”
Setting out his economic plan to drive growth across the
country, the Prime Minister will say fixing the foundations
through stability and investment brings benefits to
everyone:
“If people want to criticise the path we choose, that's their
prerogative. But let them then spell out a different direction.
If they think the state has grown too big, let them tell working
people which public services they would cut. If they don't see
our long-term investment in infrastructure as necessary, let them
explain to working people how they would grow the economy for
them.
“This this is an economic plan that will change the long-term
trajectory on British growth for the better.
“We are tackling the biggest challenges in our
economy. Higher investment – we're dealing with it. Planning
- we're reforming it. The labour market – we're getting people
back to work, but also making work pay. On competition, we're
stripping out the needless regulation that holds back growth and
private investment. And all of this built on that foundation
economic stability…
“This is what fixing the foundations and delivering change means.
Everyone in this country will benefit from this. Everyone can
wake up on Thursday and understand that a new future is being
built, a better future.”
