The world is changing in front of us and The Mail on Sunday readers can see it. Vladimir Putin represents a serious threat to our national security. Global uncertainty is pushing up borrowing and European countries are having to spend more on defence.
Britain is a strong country. I know we can overcome the challenges we face but we need a government that responds to the changing world. A government that will usher in a new era of security, stability and renewal.
We’ve all seen what happens when you have a government that chooses instability over security. Higher bills, higher rents, higher mortgage rates – and normal working people paying the price.
A price they’re still paying for the damage the Conservatives did to our country’s sound reputation for managing the public finances.
That’s why the first line of our manifesto was to restore economic stability.
People up and down the country put their trust in us because they knew we would never play fast and loose with the public purse. They trusted that we wouldn’t put their household finances at risk.
That trust was rightly hard- fought and must be earned every single day.
I make no apology for keeping an iron grip on the country’s finances. There is nothing Labour about working people paying the price of economic irresponsibility.
The Chancellor is expected to announce deeper than expected cuts in her Spring Statement on Wednesday
Rachel Reeve’s £25 billion Budget raid on employers’ National Insurance last year hit business confidence and strangled growth, causing government borrowing costs to soar
Stability must come first. And on that bedrock of stability, we will get our economy growing.
It won’t be easy. It will require us to do things differently, like taking on the blockers and slashing the red tape that has had a stranglehold on our economy.
We are already reforming the planning rules – left to fester for years – to build the 1.5 million homes we desperately need. We’re fast-tracking 150 major infrastructure projects and investing in our roads, rail and energy infrastructure to unlock private investment.
But none of this is possible without the engineers, brickies, sparkies and chippies to get the work done, and we are facing a massive shortage.
We need tens of thousands of skilled construction workers to get this country building again and deliver our target of 1.5 million homes by 2029.
To make matters worse there are more than 35,000 job vacancies, over half of which can’t be filled because of a lack of required skills – the highest rate of any sector.
Just as we got into the weeds of a broken planning system that is holding this country back, now we are going to crack the lack of skilled construction workers as well.
We need to inspire the next generation in Britain to take these well-paid jobs that offer a career for life while helping to build millions of homes to transform communities and provide security for families up and down the country.
Defence expenditure has already been boosted by cutting the foreign aid budgets, while a £5 billion cut to benefits was announced just last week
Flatlining growth means that the Treasury is closer to £5 billion in debt but the Chancellor expected the economy to be in ‘credit’ by £10 billion at this point
By investing more than £600million over this Parliament we will train up to 60,000 more construction workers.
And we need the best in the business, the men and women who have spent decades working on building sites, to pass on their skills to the next generation of construction workers.
That is why we are launching a new Further Education Teacher Industry Exchange scheme to get industry experts upskilling the next generation, as well as boosting funding for training providers.
And our plan will deliver additional industry placements, establish Technical Excellence Colleges specialising in construction, launch new foundation apprenticeships and expand Skills Bootcamps to boost construction and drive economic growth.
It’s a plan that will unleash the new generation of British construction workers, building the houses and infrastructure we need, getting Britain building again.
For too long, we have been trapped in a spiral of decline: low growth and low wages, insecure work, rising bills, soaring immigration and a soaring welfare bill. Too many people feel left out from or forgotten by the system.
And the prize on offer is an economy that is more productive, more energetic, and capable of delivering on the priorities of the British people.
Because it’s only by securing that economy of the future that we can deliver on our Plan for Change – and put security in people’s lives and start a new chapter of national renewal.