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Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Ultimately, Labour Members seem to know nothing about how business runs. It may be that none of them has ever worked in business. Keeping our corporation tax rate low is critical in re-establishing our economic credibility and our tax competitiveness. Those are fundamental building blocks in getting the investment that we are seeing. I wholeheartedly welcome the steps that the Chancellor has taken. As my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has said, the infrastructure deficit that we inherited is just as serious as the budget deficit for our future productivity and the country's ability to be successful. Infrastructure matters because it makes possible our journeys to work, delivers light when we flick on the switch and provides the connections that have created the communications revolution. Whether it is the congestion on our roads, our ageing power stations or the slow speed of our broadband connections, we face massive challenges to ensure that we have the infrastructure that we need to put Britain at the head of the competitiveness curve, not just in the next four to five years, but in the next four to five decades. My remarks will focus on transport, because the Budget sends a clear message about how crucial the Government and I believe our transport infrastructure is to our economic future. That reflects what business is telling us. The CBI states:"““There are large amounts of business capital waiting to be unlocked if the Government achieves a step-change on transport””." The Institute of Directors says that it is"““essential to provide more and better transport infrastructure in order to sustain the UK's competitiveness.””" The British Chambers of Commerce rightly states:"““Infrastructure is the lifeblood of British business.””" I could not agree more. The last Government delivered the biggest boom and the biggest bust. As we chart our way back to economic recovery, what companies and firms up and down the country rightly want to see is a Government taking action.