Jeremy Hunt outlines Tory plans for the economy in speech – British Politics Live | Policy

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Hunt wants to ‘turn the UK into the next Silicon Valley’

Hunt says the UK is “strongly positioned” to play a leading role in the innovative industries “that will shape and define this century”.

He says the government is determined to fulfill his aspirations to help Britain become a “technological superpower”.

He says:

I want the world’s tech entrepreneurs, life sciences innovators and green tech companies to come to the UK because it provides the best possible place to realize their visions.

He says the UK government will “support you to the fullest”.

Hunt says he wants the UK to be one of the most prosperous countries in Europe, and outlines four pillars of the government’s plan to get there.

In order to deliver on that plan for growth to thrive, he says we’ll need “optimism, which is somewhat in short supply.”

He says columnists left and right are talking about Britain being in an “existential crisis” and “tottering on the edge and all we can hope is that things don’t get worse”. He says:

I welcome discussion. But advisors are also allowed to have their say. I simply say that this retreat from Britain is a mistake. It was wrong in the past and it is wrong today.

Hunt: The best tax cut right now is lower inflation

Hunt says that risk taking by individuals and companies can only occur when governments provide economic and financial stability. He says:

The best tax cut right now is lower inflation.

He says the plan, laid out in his autumn manifesto, “addresses this root cause of instability in the British economy”.

Rishi Sunak has spoken of inflation being one of his five main priorities, but Hunt says he wants to talk about the prime minister’s second priority – to grow the economy.

Jeremy Hunt started talking. He begins by saying that digital technology has “altered nearly every aspect of our economic lives”.

Hunt says the UK was dealing with “economic headwinds caused by a decade of black swan events” – a financial crisis, an international energy crisis.

Jeremy Hunt lays out plans for the UK economy – watch live

He says the Conservative Party “understands better than others the importance of low taxes in creating the incentives and fostering the animal spirits that spur economic growth”.

Updated at 09.32 GMT

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, was due to speak at 9.20am but his speech from Bloomberg’s European headquarters in London was slightly delayed.

We will follow her directly when he speaks.

The number of EU students enrolled in British universities has fallen by more than half since Brexit – with sharp drops in researchers from Italy, Germany and France, figures reveal.

Brexit is seen as the primary deterrent, as home fees and student finance are no longer available to EU students who are not already living in the UK with a settled or pre-settled status.

“The significant drop seen in enrollment of first-year students in the EU can be attributed to changes in fee eligibility,” said the Higher Education Statistics Agency, which published data for the first full year post-Brexit.

Prior to Brexit, students paid home fees of just over £9,000 and student finance was available. Fees rose to £38,000 after Brexit.

The number of students from the European Union entering the first year of an undergraduate or postgraduate course fell from 66,680 in the year before Brexit took effect, 2020, to 31,000 in 2021. This was the first year that students were treated The European Union is like those coming from China or India.

But the impact of Brexit runs deeper at the university level, with only 13,155 students enrolled from the EU in 2021 for the first year of a primary degree compared to 37,530 the previous year, according to official data.

Read the full story here:

What should we expect from Hunt’s speech? Philip Inman

Jeremy Hunt will defend the government’s vision for Britain’s economic future in his speech, as he lays out plans for investment and growth.

The chancellor will say he wants to promote policies that allow the private sector to retool the UK’s industrial base and retrain the workforce for strong growth over the next decade.

He will say that a lower tax base will be key to the UK’s attractiveness to both foreign and domestic businesses.

He is also expected to condemn British “retreatment”, which he claims was “promoted” by the Labor Party, according to the Daily Mail. Hunt will insist that the experts’ negative projections “do not reflect the full picture,” according to the report.

The chancellor will also make an “optimism argument”, blaming European red tape for stifling British investment. The United Kingdom officially left the European Union three years ago.

Updated at 09.09 GMT

Chancellor to put economic plans in a speech

good morning.

The chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, is due to present the government’s vision for the future of the British economy this morning in a letter to Citi executives in London.

Hunt is expected to send an optimistic message, saying: “It was a mistake to backtrack on Britain and it is a mistake today.”

But despite the upbeat tone, the chancellor is also expected to continue to resist calls by some Tory MPs for tax cuts to jump-start weak economic growth.

Instead, he will argue that the UK should seize the opportunities offered by Brexit to increase productivity while using the proceeds from growth to support public services.

His speech follows a day absent for Cabinet at Checkers on Thursday, where the chancellor said ministers must maintain their “disciplined approach” if they are to keep inflation under control.

The speech is scheduled to start at 9.20am GMT and you can watch it here.

Meanwhile, Labor leader Keir Starmer and deputy leader Angela Reiner are due to meet frontline health workers as the row over NHS jobs and pay continues.

We’ll keep you updated on that, and any other political developments, throughout the day.

Updated at 09.21 GMT

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