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Policy for Growth

Let me make some progress and the hon. Gentleman can try again. Secondly, having been caused by international factors, the current economic uncertainty and any prospects of growth are still going to be greatly determined by what happens in the international economic arena. Let me begin, then, with the international dimension. Only yesterday, the Governor of the Bank of England warned:"““The outlook for growth is highly uncertain””," explaining:"““The contribution of net trade to growth has so far been weaker than the Bank of England Monetary Committee had expected, and it is unclear how persistent that weakness will prove to be.””" In other words, Britain's exports and trade with the world are not boosting our hopes for economic growth, despite a 25% reduction in sterling over the last three years.