We need a clean start

Families in the United Kingdom face a moment of crisis. It is becoming harder for people to simply get by. For so many of them, there is more month than there is pay. We face danger abroad, division in our politics, an economy saddled with debt and a creeping sense of despair about our collective future.

This is a defining moment for us. It is a defining moment for our country. It is a defining moment for our party, and it is going to test the values for which we stand. I am going to talk about economic policy today: but for me – for conservatives – leading on the economy is not only a question of policy. It is a question of values – it is a question of mission – a question of our task and purpose.

We have been charged with the mission of advancing the interests of the British economy and the British people. They have asked us to hold ground for them: to secure the possibility of prosperity for each and every one of them. They have asked us to not only hold the line, but to advance their aspirations: to move them and their children more confidently into the future. To hear them and to respond to them. And, most importantly, to serve them, advancing all of us towards a future with a stronger, fairer, and more resilient economy.

They have asked us to advance; and, yet we have retreated.  In a moment that is so desperate for so many—and when our service is most needed—we have retreated. We have retreated into the pettiness of a politics that is more about personality than principle. We have retreated into division when we desperately need unity. When our nation needed our party to function, we retreated into faction.  When the moment demanded service, we delivered scandal. This is a crisis of purpose, of leadership, and of trust.

We have been divided and distracted when we need to be united, responsive, and committed to the future of our people. I am sorry, but I cannot accept retreat. We should not accept retreat. We must return to service. We need leadership with a renewed sense of mission. Leadership that sees beyond divisive politics and delivers results. Leadership that will return government to the service of our economy, our people, and our country.

We need a clean start. For me, that is more than a slogan or a catchphrase.  It is a mission statement. It describes our path forward together. It summarises our advance orders for next decade – it allows us to move forward together afresh, optimistic, enthusiastic, confident, post-Brexit and ready to seize the moment anew.

That is why I am introducing my ten year plan for growth. It will return our government to the service of the British people and the British economy. It will make our economy stronger, our society fairer, and make our country more resilient.  And it will do it by returning to the core values that unite us as conservatives.

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Druin Burch

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I believe in liberty and the low taxes necessary to defend it. I believe in responsibility and the honesty essential to delivering it.  And I believe that with a clean start—and with a return to service—we can ensure the prosperity of homes and families in every part of the country. Stronger, fairer and more resilient. I believe that a clean start that returns us to the service of the people will produce a brighter future.

Our economy should be advancing, not retreating. Yet millions of people are opening bills with dread – not knowing what they’ll have to cut, to pay for what they need. They’re filling up their car wondering what it will cost to get to work the next day or next month. Every day, families are seeing their savings being steadily eroded and wondering will this be over by Christmas?

This just isn’t sustainable. It’s not fair. It’s not right. We must act. Like all conservatives, I want people to keep more of their own money. I believe we should cut the cost of government wherever we can. This isn’t an auction. I’m not here to bid for the highest or the lowest on every tax policy. I am here to make the case that our economy can only prosper if we believe that people—and not Westminster—know best how to spend their money.

I know the pain families are feeling now. That is why my first pledge is to take fuel duty down by 10p a litre. My second is to reverse the national insurance rise. This isn’t about percentages. It’s about jobs. That’s why I didn’t vote for the increase then, and I wouldn’t now. It about jobs and workers. But that’s not enough. We need to go further.

I want to ensure that we cut the right taxes to get the right results. Our investment incentives are amongst the worst in the OECD. That means it’s less attractive to invest in the UK than anywhere else. That fewer businesses buy machinery, train their staff and plan for the long term. Economists talk about ‘productivity’ – and Britain’s lack of it. What that really means is we don’t create enough; we don’t create fast enough; and we don’t sell well enough. That means every hour British workers are losing out.We can fix it.

Businesses can invest more in technology and training, to drive up real pay, not inflation. But they can only do it if we change the incentives. That means making it cheaper for companies to invest in their future. That’s why I am committing to ensuring businesses have the certainty they need to invest, by introducing a programme of permanent full expensing, giving firms the confidence they need to plan for future growth. The United Kingdom under my leadership will have the most investment friendly tax system in the OECD within five years.

But let me be clear – tax cuts cannot be the only round in the magazine My 10 year strategy for growth goes beyond taxes. What we need is deregulation to allow companies to thrive. Not because all regulation is bad–a market needs rules and a way to enforce them. But technology moves fast and often outpaces the regulators, and so even well-intended rules can become stifling

We need regulations that serve the best interests of our people and our economy and those written for a different time and a different order need particular attention. I want to seize one of the biggest economic benefits of Brexit that we haven’t yet grasped. I am talking about the EU’s Solvency II regulations, EU rules that forced British insurers to sit on dead money that they are not allowed to invest. I will urgently reform these rules, to bring these savings to life.

Employing people, starting businesses, building homes and giving families a chance. To be clear: that will mean that around £100 billion of British savers’ money can be put to work regenerating our communities and building homes. That is dead money breathing new life into our communities

The truth is that the last Government hasn’t moved far enough or fast enough. We need a clean start to bring new energy and determination, and on this we need to escape the EU’s regulatory orbit. Now Brexit has given Britain the chance to do better: I will deliver. That’s how we will harness this country’s full potential 

Because talent isn’t exclusive to Telford. Brainpower is not greater in Brighton… and I can tell you from the green benches… that the IQ isn’t higher in Islington than in Inverness. What that means is that an economy which neglects places, doesn’t just neglect people. It neglects an opportunity for prosperity for us all.

The Northern Research Group talk about spanning the divide, and about ensuring that opportunity is spread across the country I entirely agree. That is why I will equalise funding across all our regions – making sure that spending on innovation, infrastructure and transport is spread fairly, so that growth can follow. A clean start requires serving all of Britain

My friend Jake Berry speaks about wanting a Vocational Oxbridge in the North. I want one in every region. That is why I will commit to creating new Institutes of Technology across every major town and city of the UK, so that every child has the chance for a world class technical education. Levelling up isn’t about an us vs. them, a North vs. South, or an East vs. West. It’s about harnessing the energy of the entire country to build a better future for everyone. I have talked about how to make our economy stronger.

I now want to turn to how to a clean start can serve the goal of a fairer economy. To a family in Newport, GDP isn’t what they’re worried about – it’s GPs. When a family gets ill, when we need help, when we need support. We all turn to our public services. We know how important they are. But we also know they are struggling. And that means we are too. Too many of us are struggling to access the services we need, to see the doctors we want, struggling to feel safe and secure in our homes. Take the NHS. 

We’re putting record investment in without seeing the outcomes we need I know that even the most dedicated teams need targets. Take a simple measure – the four hour A&E pledge was last met in 2015 People deserve better. We expect better I will deliver better. As a first and immediate step I would reintroduce a binding A&E and referrals target and hold NHS leaders accountable for it.

But we won’t just focus on the symptoms. On my first day as Prime Minister I will bring together experts from the NHS, the wider public sector, the military, the private sector and the voluntary sector to bust through the NHS Backlog. Copying the success of the vaccine taskforce that delivered the first vaccine in the UK before anywhere else. Focus matters. Delivery matters. Competence matters.

Finally, we need the kind of clean start that will make our economy and society more resilient. From Covid to the energy crisis, we have learnt that even if we get everything right, our country and our economy is exposed to threats at home and abroad. A responsible government is one that plans ahead – that thinks about the future, not just the present. One that takes steps to ensure that we are not vulnerable, and that those who try to harm us, fail I have warned about this many times before – about the vulnerability we face in our supply chains, and our energy.

We all remember the desperate times as we rushed to secure protective equipment on far away runways and still found ourselves short … and we all feel the pain of higher oil and gas prices now. That is why I will introduce an energy resilience plan to ensure that the UK has dependable power produced at home or sourced from trusted allies That’s the only way we can truly protect our sovereignty. It’s the only way we can keep household bills low.  It’s the only way we can keep our businesses competitive.

That means more clean energy. It means more nuclear energy and the capture and storage capability to help reduce carbon. It means creating a strategy to ensure that we aren’t dependent on China to process our critical minerals, or on hostile states for our gas and it means working with our Allies to ensure that where we do import energy we do not compromise our values, or our alliances. That is the only way that we can tackle the weaponization of our energy markets by hostile states. Let me say now – if we do not grasp this issue – we are giving ground to our enemies, who will ruthlessly exploit it

Ladies and gentlemen, this great country of ours is at a crossroads. We are faced with some daunting challenges at home and abroad. We need serious leadership. We need to tackle the cost of living crisis. We need a ten year plan for growth. We need bold leadership to deliver a return to service I am ready to serve.

I am ready to lead. We need a clean start. Thank you