U.K. Prime Minister Teresa May is expected to outline her vision for Britain’s industrial future Monday, while the leader of the U.K.’s opposition Labour party is expected to set out his proposals for “big changes” to the country’s economy.
Both the prime minister and Labour leader Jeremy Corybn are expected to give speeches at a Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference in London. In pre-released excerpts of the politicians’ speeches, Conservative leader May is expected to defend the free market economy and say there are “huge opportunities” in Britain over the next decade.
“We cannot — and will not try — to make a plan for every corner of our economy. We believe in the free market and won’t attempt to shield the economy from market forces. So we will have to make strategic decisions about where the government can — and where it cannot — best support key sectors of our economy,” she is due to say.
“As we look ahead to the next 10 years for Britain’s economy, we should do so as rational optimists.” She is expected to give more details on her government’s “industrial strategy,” which includes investment in skills and infrastructure.
The speech to the CBI conference will be closely watched by business leaders who want to know how the government will manage Britain’s economic transition out of the European Union.
In her speech Monday, May is expected to play down the slow progress in Brexit negotiations, however, and is expected to address concerns among British businesses that they could face a “cliff-edge” scenario if Britain leaves the EU in March 2019 without a deal.
“I have made clear that a strictly time-limited implementation period will be crucial to our future success,” she will say, adding that “during this period access to one another’s markets should continue on current terms, and I want us to agree the detailed arrangements for this period as early as possible.”
While Brexit is at the forefront of the Conservative government’s agenda currently, the increasing popularity of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will not be going unnoticed by the government.
The staunch Socialist is popular among younger voters and the party made strong progress in a general election in June, gaining 32 seats in parliament. The left-wing Corbyn has a way to go to convince many British voters and businesses that the country and its economy would be safe in his hands, however.
Corbyn is expected to try to assuage concerns of businesses when speaking at the CBI conference on Monday, telling the audience that there is “common ground” between business and Labour to deliver “big changes” to the British economy.
“Common ground on Brexit, common ground on investment, training and industrial strategy, and a government that embraces its responsibilities and carries them out for the common good. That’s what Labour offers you,” he is expected to say.
He will add that Britain’s economic model needs to change, advocating “an economy for the many.”
“We all know an economic model that allows a few to grow very rich while the majority face falling incomes and rising indebtedness, that leaves too many people in unfulfilling and insecure work, that is overly reliant on one sector in one region of our country, is neither stable nor sustainable,” he will tell the conference.
This will mean making some “big changes,” he will say, to tackle Britain’s problems of “low investment, low productivity and low pay.” Like the Conservatives, Labour advocate an infrastructure investment program using what they call a “National Transformation Fund” that Corbyn will say would “reverse years of under-investment in the regions, investing in transport, energy and digital infrastructure right across the country.”
Source: cnbc
UK political leaders to set out competing visions for Britain's economic future