Conservative Manifesto 2010 Change the Economy Introduction

Conservative Manifesto 2010 Change the Economy Introduction

Get the economy moving

Gordon Brown’s debt, waste and taxes have wrecked the economy and threaten to kill the recovery. A Conservative government will take action now to cut the deficit, stop Labour’s jobs tax, help keep mortgage rates low and get the economy moving. We will create a new economic model built on investment and savings, not borrowing and debt.

Where is the growth going to come from? Who will provide jobs for the millions out of work? how will families be able to aspire to a better future? these are the questions being asked about britain, at home and abroad.

one thing is clear. We can’t go on with the old model of an economy built on debt. irresponsible public spending, an overblown banking sector, and unsustainable consumer borrowing on the back of a housing bubble were the features of an age of irresponsibility that left Britain badly exposed to the economic crisis. now, with the national debt already doubled and in danger of doubling again, it is this debt – together with the jobs tax that Labour will introduce to help pay for it – that threatens to kill the recovery.

britain needs a new economic model. Saving and business investment must replace reckless borrowing as the foundation of growth. We need to boost enterprise and develop a low carbon, hi-tech economy. Our exports must grow. We need to get Britain working by creating jobs in the private sector, and we must get better value for money from the public sector.

With the next Conservative government, our tax system, education and national infrastructure will help British firms out-compete their global rivals, not hold them back. We will build a more balanced economy that does not depend so heavily on the success of financial services, and where all parts of the country share in the gains. the bedrock of this new economic model will be the stability and low interest rates that come from a credible plan to reduce our record budget deficit, protect Britain’s credit rating and give taxpayers value for their money.

building this new economic model requires a national effort. We can reverse britain’s economic decline – but only if we accept that we are all in this together. no government, even a strong and united one, can create a better country alone. it needs individuals, families and businesses pulling alongside. We want to unite everyone in our country behind this bold vision of a new british economic model.