PM Economy Speech: 30 June 2020
PM Boris Johnson made a speech on the economy in Dudley.
It may seem a bit premature to make a speech now about Britain after Covid
when that deceptively nasty disease is still rampant in other countries
when global case numbers are growing fast
and when many in this country are nervous – rightly – about more outbreaks
whether national or local
like the flare-up in Leicester
whereas I promised we are putting on the brakes and I thank the people of Leicester for their forbearance
and yet we cannot continue simply to be prisoners of this crisis
We are preparing now slowly and cautiously to come out of hibernation
and I believe it is absolutely vital for us now to set out the way ahead
so that everyone can think and plan for the future – short, medium and long term
because if the covid crisis has taught us one thing it is that this country needs to be ready for what may be coming
and we need to be able to move with levels of energy and speed
that we have not needed for generations
And I know that there are plenty of things that people say and will say that we got wrong
and we owe that discussion and that honesty to the tens of thousands who have died before their time
to the families who have lost loved ones
and of course there must be time to learn the lessons, and we will
but I also know that some things went right – and emphatically right
I think of the speed and efficiency with which we put up the Nightingales – ten days for a hospital –
I think of the drive and inventiveness of the British companies who rose to the ventilator challenge
with three brand new production lines called into being within the space of eight weeks
with a new model of ventilator developed in March and granted regulatory approval in weeks, and 9,500 of them now made
I pay tribute to the pace at which Oxford university managed to perform the trials for dexamethasone
the world’s first demonstrably life-saving treatment for the disease
I am in awe of the problem-crunching fury with which HMRC and the Treasury created the furlough scheme and all the other means of support
world-leading standards of protection for jobs and incomes
set up in a matter of days
There were brilliant and determined individuals who more than rose to the challenge of this crisis
there were thousands and thousands who put their hearts and souls into it
and yet our debt is not just to them
It is not just even to the devotion and love of the NHS and the care workers who saved so many lives
including my own
There was one big reason in the end that we were able to avert a far worse disaster
and that was because the whole of society came together
to make a sacrifice on behalf of those who might be particularly vulnerable – particularly the elderly
We all knew went we went into lockdown that there would be huge economic costs
We could see what would happen
and yet we did it, we the United Kingdom
in a display of solidarity not seen since world war two
and so today we must combine that energy and drive
with that concentrated burst of collective willpower that protected the NHS
controlled the virus
and saved literally hundreds of thousands of lives
and we must work fast
because we have already seen the vertiginous drop in GDP
and we know that people are worried now about their jobs and their businesses
and we are waiting as if between the flash of lightning and the thunderclap
with our hearts in our mouths
for the full economic reverberations to appear
and we must use this moment – now – this interval to plan our response and to fix of course the problems that were most
brutally illuminated in that covid lightning flash
the problems in our social care system
the parts of government that seemed to respond so sluggishly
so that sometimes it seemed like that recurring bad dream when you are telling your feet to run
and your feet won’t move
and yet we must also go further and realise that if we are to recover fully
if we are to deal with the coming economic aftershock
then this covid crisis is also the moment to address
the problems in our country that we have failed to tackle for decades
because it is one of the most extraordinary features of the UK
– in so many ways the greatest place on earth –
that we tolerate such yawning gaps between the best and the rest
We have some of the best and most productive companies in the world
– and yet we are not as nationally productive as many of our global competitors
We have the world’s most brilliant medical minds, the world’s best pharmaceutical companies,
our doctors and treatments are the best in the world
and yet we have so many millions who have to wait for too long to see their GP – even before the new waiting lists produced by the crisis
We have umpteen fantastic, globally outstanding universities
and yet too many degree courses are not now delivering value
and for a century we have failed to invest enough in further education and give young people the practical training and further education they need
We have a capital city that was, is and will be in so many ways the capital of the world
theatre, finance, tech, restaurants
you name it, London leads the world
and yet too many parts of this country have felt left behind
neglected, unloved, as though someone had taken a strategic decision that their fate did not matter as much as the metropolis
so I want you to know that this government not only has a vision to change this country for the better
we have a mission to unite and to level up
the mission on which we were elected last year
and we have a plan
and in advancing that plan now
I just serve notice that we will not be responding to this crisis with what people called austerity
we are not going to try to cheese-pare our way out of trouble
because the world has moved on since 2008
and we not only face a new and in some ways a far bigger challenge
and I can tell everybody, businesses that next week the Chancellor will be setting out our immediate plan to support the economy through the first phase of our recovery
but this moment also gives us a much greater chance to be radical and to do things differently
to build back better
to build back bolder
and so we will be doubling down on our strategy
we will double down on levelling up
and when I say level up, I don’t mean attacking our great companies
I don’t mean impeding the success of London – far from it
or launching some punitive raid on the wealth creators
I don’t believe in tearing people down any more than I believe in tearing down statues that are part of our heritage
let alone a statue of our greatest wartime leader
I believe in building people up
giving everyone growing up in this country the opportunity they need
whoever you are, whatever your ethnicity, whatever your background
and there are certain things that are indispensable for that opportunity
the hospital you are born in
the schools you go to
the safety of the streets where you grow up
and this government has not forgotten that we were elected to build 40 new hospitals
and we will – Matt Hancock is setting out the list in the next few days, and that is just the beginning
We will continue and step up the biggest ever programme of funding the NHS
and we won’t wait to fix the problem of social care
that every government has flunked for the last 30 years
We will end the injustice that some people have to sell their homes to finance the costs of their care while others don’t
We are finalising our plans and we will build a cross-party consensus
We will look after those who have looked after us and at the same time
We will build the foundations now for future prosperity
to make this country – a Britain that is fully independent and self-governing for the first time in 45 years
the most attractive place to live and to invest and to set up a company
with the most motivated and highly skilled workforce
and so we are investing massively now in education
with over £14bn for primary and secondary education between now and 2023
and today with a new ten year school building programme
beginning now with £1bn for the first 50 schools
and a vast £1.5 bn programme of refurbishing our dilapidated Further Education sector – dilapidated in many places, but not here of course
because it is time the system recognised that talent and genius are expressed as much by hand and by eye as they are in a spreadsheet or an essay
so when I say unite and level up
when I say build up people and build up talent
I want to end the current injustice that means a pupil from a London state school is now 50 per cent more likely to go to a top university than a pupil from the west midlands
and that is not only unjust
it is such a waste of human talent
We will unleash the potential of the entire country
and that means basic things, cracking down again on the crime that blights too many streets and too many lives
and we will get on with our plan to recruit 20,000 more police officers – we have already found 3,000
and I thank them for everything they are doing and have done
in this crisis
and we will back our police all the way
and give our justice system the powers we need
to end the lunacy that stops us – for instance – deporting some violent offenders
just as we have already stopped the automatic early release of terrorists
We will make this country safer
We will build the hospitals
build the schools and the colleges
but we will also build back greener and build a more beautiful Britain
we will protect the landscape with flood defences
and plant 30,000 hectares of trees every year
creating a new patchwork of woodlands to enchant and re-energise the soul
and in those towns that feel left behind we have plans to invest in their centres
and with new academy schools, new green buses, new broadband
and we want to make them places where people have the confidence to stay, to raise their families and to start businesses
and not to feel that the action is all in the cities or the metropolis
and yet I don’t think that this crisis has ended the desire or need to move around swiftly and efficiently
We have learned the wonders of Zoom and MS Teams
the joys of muting or unmuting our colleagues at key moments
but we still need to travel
and more than ever the time has come when we must unite and level up in the most basic way possible
not just with HS2 and NPR
but with better roads, better rail
unblocking the central Manchester bottleneck that delays services across the north
and 4000 brand new zero carbon buses
and a massive new plan for cycleways
and we will build and rebuild those vital connexions to every part of the UK
because now is the moment to strengthen that incredible partnership between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
and I know that some have sometimes played up the legitimate variations in the response between the devolved administrations
but when you look at the whole effort you can see the absolutely vital role of that union and that partnership
It is our fantastic UK armed services that have played such a crucial role in this crisis
running the test centres, building the hospitals, transporting people from the Shetlands to the right Covid wards
It was the might of the UK Treasury that set up that furlough scheme – in all corners of the country
and sent massive and immediate extra funding to all four parts of the UK
I believe the union has more than showed its worth
and a prosperous and united Kingdom must be a connected Kingdom
and that is why we are now accelerating projects from South West to the North East from Wales, to Scotland, to Northern Ireland
and to drive economic growth in all parts of the country
we will carry out a study of all future road, rail, air and cross-sea links between our all our four parts of the UK
When did a government first promise to dual the A1 to Scotland ?
It was 1992
Well this government is going to do it
and it is this infrastructure revolution
that will allow us to end that other chronic failure of the British state
decade after decade in which we have failed to build enough homes
We will build fantastic new homes on brownfield sites
and other areas that with better transport and other infrastructure could frankly be suitable and right for development
and address that intergenerational injustice
and help young people get on the housing ladder in the way that their parents and grandparents could
and it is to galvanise this whole process that this government will shortly bring forward the most radical reforms of our planning system since the end of the second world war
Yes, we will insist on beautiful and low carbon homes
but covid has taught us the cost of delay
why does UK public procurement take 50 per cent longer than in Germany?
why are UK capital costs typically between 10 and 30 per cent higher than other European projects?
Why is HS2 – transformational though it will be – going to cost us the equivalent of the GDP of Sri Lanka?
Why are we so slow at building homes by comparison with other European countries?
In 2018 we built 2.25 homes per 1000 people
Germany managed 3.6, the Netherlands 3.8, France 6.8
I tell you why - because time is money, and the newt-counting
delays in our system are a massive drag on the productivity and the prosperity of this country
and so we will build better and build greener but we will also build faster
and that is why the Chancellor and I have set up Project Speed to scythe through red tape and get things done
and with every home we make, every mile of full fibre broadband that we lay
with every flood-defending culvert that we dig
with every railway station, hospital or school that we build
we will of course be tackling the next wave of this crisis
by helping to create thousands of high-paid high-skilled jobs
because we know in our hearts that the furloughing cannot go on forever
and as the economy recovers we also know that the jobs that many people had in January
are also not coming back
or at least not in that form
and we know that is our biggest and most immediate economic challenge that we face
and so we will offer an Opportunity Guarantee so that every young person has the chance of apprenticeship or an in-work placement
so that they maintain the skills and confidence they need to find the job that is right for them
I am conscious as I say all this that it sounds like a prodigious amount of government intervention
It sounds like a New Deal
and all I can say is that if so, then that is how it is meant to sound and to be
because that is what the times demand
a government that is powerful and determined and that puts its arms around people at a time of crisis
that tackles homelessness
the inequalities that drive people to food banks
because it is time now not just for a New Deal but a Fair Deal for the British people
and we can do all this now partly because of the prudent management of the economy in the last ten years
but also because we are planning to invest now
when the cost of borrowing allows it
and when the returns are greatest
because that is the way both now and in the medium term to
drive the growth, to fuel the animal spirits and the long-term business investment
on which our future prosperity depends
my friends I am not a communist
I believe it is also the job of government to create the conditions for free market enterprise
and yes of course we clap for our NHS
but under this government we also applaud those who make our NHS possible
our innovators
our wealth creators
our capitalists and financiers
because in the end it is
their willingness to take risks with their own money that will be crucial for our future success
This is Dudley the birthplace of Abraham Darby who massively accelerated the industrial revolution by using coke instead of charcoal to produce pig iron
(it may not sound like it, but it’s also the greener option)
and today Dudley remains at the cutting edge of green technology that is increasingly driving the whole of the UK economy
It was here in 2011 that a company called Westfield produced the world’s first commercially viable electric racing car
and the whole of the West Midlands is now a global centre of battery technology and batteries for EVs
and that is the vision of Mayor Andy Street, and we will back that vision
This is a government that backs Britain, and believes in British innovation
and this summer we will be creating a new science funding agency to back high risk, high reward projects
because in the next 100 years the most successful societies will be the most innovative societies
and we in this country have the knack of innovation
we lead the world in quantum computing, in life sciences, in genomics, in AI, space satellites, net zero planes, and in the long term solutions to global warming
wind, solar, hydrogen technology
carbon capture and storage, nuclear
and as part of our mission to reach Net Zero CO2 emissions by 2050, we should set ourselves the goal now of producing the world’s first zero emission long haul passenger plane
Jet Zero, let’s do it
and though we are no longer a military superpower we can be a science superpower
but we must end the chasm between invention and application
that means a brilliant British discovery disappears to California and becomes a billion dollar American company
or a Chinese company
and we need now a new dynamic commercial spirit to make the most of UK breakthroughs
so that British ideas produce new British industries and British jobs
And yet to achieve all that from where we are now we must get on first with the hard and painstaking work of re-opening our economy
and I feel the urgency and impatience of all those sectors that are still being held back
the theatres, the arts, the salons, the gyms, the cricket clubs, sectors in which we lead the world
and yet which suffer because they depend on the very physical proximity and contact that Covid makes so difficult
and I say to everybody in those sectors we will get you going as fast as we can
we will get life back to normal for as many as possible as fast as possible
But as we approach July 4 I am afraid that the dangers – as we can see in Leicester - have not gone away
the virus is out there
still circling like a shark in the water
and it will take all our collective discipline and resolve to keep that virus at bay
and if we can and get on to the next phase of recovery then we can get on all the faster to the next phase
and to the delivery of our plan
This is a government that is wholly committed not just to defeating coronavirus
but to using this crisis finally to tackle this country’s great unresolved challenges of the last three decades
to build the homes
to fix the NHS
to solve social care
to tackle the skills crisis
to mend the indefensible gap in opportunity and productivity and connectivity between the regions of the UK
to unite and level up
and to that end we will build, build, build
build back better build back greener build back faster
and to do that at the pace that this moment requires
we need now to distil the very best of the psychic energy of the last few months
let’s take the zap and élan of the armed services who helped to build the Nightingales
let’s take the selflessness and the love of the health and the care workers and the charities
the public spirit and the good humour of the entire population
and let’s brew them together with the superhuman energy of Captain Tom
bounding around his garden at the age of 100 and raising millions for charity
let’s take that combination, that spirit bottle it, swig it
and I believe we will have found if not quite a magic potion, at least the right formula to get us through these dark times
And I must stress that there will still be some tough times ahead
and to work this whole plan through will take effort, and nerve, and patience
and no we won’t get everything right
we certainly won’t get everything right first time
but this is the moment to be ambitious
to believe in Britain
to rise to the scale of the challenge and the opportunity
If we deliver this plan together
then we will together build our way back to health
We will not just bounce back
We will bounce forward – stronger and better and more united than ever before.
Thank you all very much.