Every generation faces its own economic challenges, be it revolution, depression or liberalisation. I am a child of the technology revolution, my parents ran businesses through the era of economic liberalisation, my grandparents lived through the Great Depression and my great-great ancestors saw the Industrial Revolution of Victorian Britain.
Our children and our grandchildren will too face their own economic challenge posed by increasing resource scarcity. The population of the world grows, the resources that drive our prosperity dwindle and the challenge of rapidly rising living costs looms. How Britain fares in future will be determined not by the decisions taken decades down the line, but by decisions taken now.
Our prosperity, living standards and growth had been built on the quicksand of borrowing, unsustainable spending and false promises. We have a choice. We can tinker round the edges in a hope of spinning this lie out for just a little longer, or we can tackle the deep rooted issues in the economy to deliver prosperity built on sustainable foundations. This is what we are doing.
Our competitive business tax system, reformed regulations and open economy is attracting investment from all around the world. It shows. We have the biggest investment in the railways since the Victorian Era, investment that directly benefits Swindon. For the first time in my lifetime, we export more cars than we import and with Honda and BMW Swindon sits at the heart of this. We remain the financial capital of Europe, good news for local employers like Nationwide. Growth is taking root (nearly 1% in the last 3 months alone) and it is taking root in all sectors of the economy, all corners of the country.
Not only are we making Britain a great place to invest, but also a great place to employ. Since 2010, we have seen a net increase of 1.4 million private sector jobs and employment is now at record levels, higher than its pre-recession peak. We are overhauling our skills system, delivering a record number of apprenticeships and new University Technical Colleges, including one in Swindon’s old railway quarter, an economic revolution past gives way to one anew.
Aggressive measures to help tackle rising living costs are ensuring that out prosperity is not threatened. Our income tax cuts have put £700 a year back in the pockets of 24 million basic rate taxpayers (including 81,483 in Swindon). We’ve kept interest rates low, worth around £2000 a year to Swindon families with a mortgage of £100,000. Energy companies are being targeted, our dependence on oil reduced and tax-free childcare introduced.
These are not easy changes to achieve, but we must make them and they are making a difference, one that will be felt for generations to come.
