PM unveils strategy for growth
The Prime Minister has delivered a speech in Manchester unveiling the Government's plans to help drive growth and create jobs across our country.
Speaking alongside Michael Heseltine who chairs the Independent Advisory Panel for the Regional Growth Fund, the PM said the government is doing “everything it possibly can” to drive growth in the UK economy.
Mr Cameron said the Government planned to invest in the “industries of the future” such as aerospace, pharmaceuticals and green energy while at the same time encouraging growth beyond the South East to balance the economy.
Speaking to business leaders, Mr Cameron said the Government also wanted to see the country’s tourism industry expand as well as attract businesses to develop the green energy technology such as wind turbines and solar panels.
He said:
Getting behind tourism, green energy, pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing, aerospace, the industries of the future - all this is crucial.
But it would be a big mistake if we stopped at those big ticket industries. Because if you look at where growth has come from in recent years, you see that it’s the small, innovative companies that hold a lot of the potential.
The PM said it was crucial to make sure growth was balanced across the UK as around half of growth had been concentrated in London and its surrounding regions over the past decade.
It would achieve economic growth in the regions by introducing “powerful mayors” with “clout and passion to make change happen” in the country’s biggest cities. The Regional Growth Fund would also promote investment in run-down areas.
The Regional Growth Fund is a discretionary £1.4bn Fund that will operate for 3 years between 2011 and 2014 to stimulate enterprise.
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Read more: Regional Growth Fund (BIS website)
Read more: Regional Growth Fund opens for business (Cabinet Office website)