The theme of this conference is equipping Britain for the increasingly competitive challenges of the global economy. And I am delighted that so many distinguished international business men and women, experts and members of other countries’ governments are coming together for what I believe will be an important and forward-looking event.
As the world economy starts to grow again, Britain stands at a moment of opportunity that we either seize or squander. Our hard won stability has given us the longest period of sustained peacetime growth for one hundred and fifty years. And building upon that stability, I believe now is the right time to remove all unnecessary barriers to wealth creation, open up enterprise to all and propel forward what can be a British enterprise renaissance.
In recent years we have forged a new British economic purpose on the hard choices needed for economic stability including our decision to make the Bank of England independent, adopt new fiscal rules and radically cut the national debt.
I believe that just as we have forged that new national purpose on the need for consensus on stability, so we can forge a deeper sense of British economic purpose on the importance of enterprise – moving beyond the sterile, debilitating political divisions of the past – ensuring that British enterprise, inventiveness and creativity can lead, as we rediscover the entrepreneurial spirit that made us the first industrial power of the world.
I am more convinced than ever that a government on the side of enterprise should concentrate only on what it can do well: entrench stability, invest in science, skills and infrastructure and at every stage – starting up, investing, hiring, training, seeking equity, starting to export – listen to the concerns of business and remove all the old barriers holding the enterprising back.
Since 1997 we have already improved the environment for business creation and growth in Britain: with cuts in capital gains, corporation and small business taxes; initiatives to bridge the equity gap; reductions in the VAT and audit burdens on small firms; reforms to speed up our planning system; and new Enterprise Areas in our most disadvantaged areas.
As globalisation and the restructuring of advanced industrial economies gathers pace, we are doing more to equip Britain for competition not on low pay, but on high technology and intellectual strength through a £1.25 billion investment in British science, new R&D tax credits and measures to encourage business innovation. Instead of the old levies or laissez faire, we propose a New Deal for Skills – including a second chance for adults without basic skills to learn through further education, distance learning or work-based training.
And with 50 per cent of our trade with Europe, we are not only taking forward a deregulation initiative to equip Europe for the competitive pressures we face, but demanding urgent progress in the stalled WTO talks and a special effort to remove all barriers to transatlantic trade.
These are issues that affect both business and government in all countries - so we must work together to meet these challenges in the global economy and learn from each other. We have made progress over the last six years, but there is much further to go. I look forward to hearing your views and hope you find the conference interesting and rewarding.
back to top
Advancing Enterprise Conference index