I take the view that while policies should be adaptable to unexpected short-term changes, it is right to plan for the long-term and that ultimately, it is better to work for sustainable long-term results rather than for short-term good news stories in order to court instant popularity.
This is why I was pleased with the measures in last week’s Autumn Statement by the Chancellor Philip Hammond. He provided confidence and certainty, by setting out clear plans for investment, public spending and the tax system, as well as continuing the task of bringing down the deficit and getting our country back to living within its means.
The Conservative government is strongly investing in our productive economy. As a result of facing up to difficult decisions, public investment is now higher over this decade than it was over the whole of the 13 years of the last Labour government. A National Productivity Investment Fund worth £23 billion is being set up that provides the financial backbone for the Government’s industrial strategy. Every penny will be earmarked for high value-generating infrastructure and research, including an extra £2 billion a year by 2020-21 for additional investment in Research and Development, ensuring that Britain is at the cutting edge of new technology in an ever-changing world.
It is right to address the long-term challenges facing the country such as low productivity, by investing in infrastructure and innovation which will boost long-term economic growth, rather than falling behind advancing nations and having to pay for economic failure, as has been the legacy from every Labour government.
The Conservatives are making Britain one of the most attractive countries to do business because it is the private sector that creates the wealth that pays for all our public services. From a successful economy, everything else can flow. The UK economy is expected to have grown by 2.1% in 2016 which makes us predicted to be the fastest growing major advanced economy in the world. Laying the foundations for continued long-term economic growth in a changing world will serve us all well both today and for years to come.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
30th November 2016