UK Investment Summit Wales 2014: Prime Minister's speech
David Cameron gave a speech at the UK Investment Summit Wales 2014 on industry, infrastructure and investment in the UK.
Thank you. Thank you very much for that introduction Ian [Livingston, Minister for Trade and Investment]. And I think it바카라 사이트™s a sign of how business바카라 사이트‘friendly this government wants to be that we looked at the private sector, we found one of Britain바카라 사이트™s most successful companies, BT, and we poached their Chief Executive and made him our trade minister and he is helping to promote Britain as a destination for inward investment and helping to promote our trade links and our trade policy around the world. And Ian it바카라 사이트™s great to have you here today.
And it바카라 사이트™s great to be back at Celtic Manor, this is my second visit in not too many months, because we had the NATO summit here. Thank you Ian, and thank you to all the exhibitors here today; people who are showing just how much Britain and Wales have got to offer.
Industry in Wales
We바카라 사이트™ve got a bicycle that wasn바카라 사이트™t built, it was printed on a digital printer; I바카라 사이트™ve seen that happen myself, that extraordinary business, Renishaw. We바카라 사이트™ve got a motorbike that doesn바카라 사이트™t emit smoke, but emits water, and we바카라 사이트™ve got concrete that bends so you can actually buy it by the roll.
And I think if you go beyond this hall, you really can see that Wales is coming back. People don바카라 사이트™t just look at Pembrokeshire and think of holidays; they think of cutting바카라 사이트‘edge energy. Cardiff doesn바카라 사이트™t just mean rugby; it means aerospace, it means finance. In Snowdonia there are some great IT businesses. Caerphilly means hi바카라 사이트‘tech.
This is the new Wales, this is the Wales we want the world to see, and if you look around, you can see people flying from Berlin to Bangkok in wings made in Broughton, our troops are using radios made in Caerphilly, and, yes, from the tip of Scotland to the end of Cornwall, shoppers are spending coins struck in Llantrisant, at the Royal Mint.
So Wales is doing exactly what we need to do to get our country back on track, and that is making things and selling them to the world. And this government has a plan to make sure that Wales does even better, and the plan is based on, very simply, the things that a nation needs to succeed in the 21st century.
You need fiscal common sense underpinning your economy with sound public finances; you need, as Ian바카라 사이트™s just said, a business바카라 사이트‘friendly approach that enables businesses to take on people and grow; you need modern infrastructure that supports those businesses 바카라 사이트“ the roads, the railways, the ports 바카라 사이트“ to help get people their goods to market; and finally, you need openness to investment, to trade, to partnerships. Those are the 4 things that I believe are vital, and I want to say something on each of them today.
Long term economic plan
First, on the fiscal common sense. Successful nations have got to have solid foundations. You바카라 사이트™ve got to have public finances that are strong. And that is line 1 in our long term economic plan: reduce the deficit, because that is what will safeguard our economy for the long term. It바카라 사이트™s already down by a third; we aim to have it down by a half. In the next Parliament we want to eliminate it altogether and run a surplus, because we want to make sure we use the good years to strengthen our countries resilience to future shocks.
This is what investors need to know when they sign on the dotted line: they want confidence in the future of a country. And that is how we바카라 사이트™re securing the future for Wales and for Britain: taking the difficult decisions on government spending; getting the deficit down; keeping interest rates low; delivering the stability, the predictability, and the certainty that investors all around the world always tell me that they want.
Now a number of people said, 바카라 사이트˜Well, what will be the effect of this on Wales, when you have to make difficult decisions?바카라 사이트™ And I think we can see in Wales, with the jobs and the growth, that the Welsh economy has responded extremely strongly.
Business friendly Britain
Now second, modern, successful nations need to be business바카라 사이트‘friendly because, after all, in the end it is not governments that create jobs, it is firms like yours. That is why we바카라 사이트™re striving to make Britain the best place in the world to start and to grow a business. And I think our offer 바카라 사이트“ and I would call it an offer; I바카라 사이트™m not ashamed at all to say we should get out there and sell Britain 바카라 사이트“ is very, very clear.
On corporation tax, the lowest of all the G7 countries, soon to be the lowest rate of corporation tax in the G20. On bureaucracy, we바카라 사이트™ve heard the call loud and clear from business to get rid of unnecessary red tape; we바카라 사이트™ve had the , putting all the regulation up on the internet so you can tell us what to get rid of. We바카라 사이트™ve got the challenge of 바카라 사이트“ you cannot introduce in our government a new regulation unless you abolish two existing regulations, so we바카라 사이트™ve already slashed £1.5 billion of red tape.
On research and development, another key ask of business, we바카라 사이트™ve brought in attractive new tax incentives. If you바카라 사이트™re a small or medium바카라 사이트‘sized company, you can claim 225% corporation tax relief against the cost of your research programme. If you바카라 사이트™re an innovator, with our patent box, you can come here, develop intellectual property, and as long as you exploit it here, you can pay lower corporation tax.
Now the result of these changes and our business바카라 사이트‘friendly approach is that we바카라 사이트™ve got 400,000 more businesses in Britain in the last 4 years; more than at any point in our history. But obviously business also needs people who can work for them, and that is why getting the country back to work has been such a key part of our plan. We바카라 사이트™ve been capping benefits so no one can earn more on welfare than the average family does in work; we바카라 사이트™ve slashed income taxes, offering one of the highest personal tax바카라 사이트‘free allowances in the world. In Britain today, you can earn up to £10,000 before you start paying income tax; we want to make sure people are always better off in work.
And the result is that today there are 37,000 more people in work in Wales then there were in 2010, that바카라 사이트™s 37,000 more people going out to work each morning, bringing home a wage each month, and we바카라 사이트™re making sure the workforce has the training and the skills that they need, and that you need. So we put skills at the heart of our plan, we바카라 사이트™ve revolutionised apprenticeships, we바카라 사이트™ve got a target of 2 million apprentices to be trained in this Parliament; we바카라 사이트™ve already done 1.9 million 바카라 사이트“ so we바카라 사이트™re on track.
We바카라 사이트™ve only been able to do this because we바카라 사이트™ve taken difficult decisions today, and that is what we believe will build a better future tomorrow, and a future that we really want you, the businesses here today, to be part of.
Infrastructure
Now the third thing I mentioned is infrastructure. And businesses repeatedly say to us this is absolutely top priority for them. You need it to help grow, you need it particularly to expand in places like Wales. Now, when we came to office, we바카라 사이트™d had the deepest recession in Britain since the War, we had one of the biggest budget deficits, not only in the West but actually anywhere in the world, and I think the last thing people expected us to do was to go on investing and in some cases to increase our investment in things like broadband and energy and transport infrastructure, but we did.
We believe that the long바카라 사이트‘term decisions needed to be made. We thought the situation was grave, after all in the good years, between 2000 and 2007, actually the infrastructure investment in Britain had fallen below the average for developed nations, and actually was one of the lowest for developed nations. And I think this was totally wrong, because this is the country of Brunel, of Stephenson, and letting our bridges crumble, letting our railways fall into disrepair, is the wrong approach for Britain.
So we needed a road and rail revolution, and we wanted Wales at the forefront of that, and that is what you바카라 사이트™re now getting. So we바카라 사이트™re ensuring the Welsh government can upgrade the M4; it is the absolutely crucial artery for South Wales. We바카라 사이트™re spending £500 million so Wales is better linked to Heathrow airport. We바카라 사이트™re now electrifying the Great Western Main Line all the way to Swansea, which will be one of the biggest investments in trains in more than a century, and today I can announce that we are going to press ahead with the electrification of the Valleys railway lines.
After years of neglect, this part of Wales will finally get the infrastructure it needs: faster, more modern, more efficient trains, and I believe the impact will be huge. It will spread employment opportunities from Cardiff and beyond. It will transform communities throughout the Valleys, and it will help people from all parts of this great nation to get on.
There바카라 사이트™s been a real partnership between the UK government and the Welsh Assembly government to bring this about. I want to pay particular tribute to Stephen Crabb, the Secretary of State, and the Welsh Office, for the hard, patient work they바카라 사이트™ve done. This is a great deal for Wales. It바카라 사이트™ll make a huge difference to those communities and to people across South Wales.
Now as we know, in the modern world, infrastructure can be a magic ingredient, and probably none more바카라 사이트‘so than the internet and broadband, which, if you바카라 사이트™re in a rural part of the country, like the constituency I represent in England, you absolutely need that as much as being connected to the road or rail network.
275,000 homes and businesses are now hooked up to superfast speeds; connections are 3 times as fast as they were in 2010. But we know that more needs to be done. So this is the infrastructure we바카라 사이트™re building, it바카라 사이트™s on offer to people who come here and invest, and we hope that you do.
Openness
Now the fourth thing I mentioned is openness: openness to trade, openness to investment, openness to partnerships. I바카라 사이트™ve always made the argument that in the modern, competitive world, where no바카라 사이트‘one is owed a living, you cannot rely on your past glories. Britain 바카라 사이트“ all parts of Britain 바카라 사이트“ have got to be hungry, relentless, forthright, about selling our products and making our living in the world. That is why, with Ian Livingston, I바카라 사이트™ve been packing planes with innovators and I바카라 사이트™ve led trade delegations from China to India, South Africa, Mexico 바카라 사이트“ I바카라 사이트™m ticking off the important markets one by one.
And we바카라 사이트™ve seen some real increases, more than doubling our investments 바카라 사이트“ our trade with China; big increases in terms of other developing markets. Actually, our trade outside the European Union is growing four times faster than our trade inside the European Union, but clearly both are vital for this country. I바카라 사이트™ve told our diplomats and our officials in the Foreign Office that they are salespeople for the UK as well as diplomats, and they바카라 사이트™re there to help UK businesses at every turn.
And that바카라 사이트™s I wanted to come to Celtic Manor today, to sell Wales around the world. And I believe it바카라 사이트™s an easy sell, because between 2012 and 2013, foreign investment in Wales trebled and is still rising. Companies, I think, are clamouring to come here. We바카라 사이트™ve got Hitachi set to build a nuclear power station in Anglesey. We바카라 사이트™ve got Lend Lease, an Australian business, creating thousands of jobs when they start the prison in Wrexham. We바카라 사이트™ve got our very own Pinewood Studios 바카라 사이트“ and it was great you had Ivan Dunleavy here earlier 바카라 사이트“ making the blockbusters of tomorrow in Cardiff.
And I think when people ask, 바카라 사이트˜Why Wales?바카라 사이트™, what makes this such an attractive base 바카라 사이트“ what I get from CEOs is this is a win바카라 사이트‘win situation. You바카라 사이트™ve got a high quality of life; low cost of overheads; resource바카라 사이트‘rich, rural locations; the urban hub of Cardiff; the proximity of cities, industries and universities; and the space to expand and grow; all of those things together. So, no surprise that when Amazon wanted to build its biggest warehouse 바카라 사이트“ the size, apparently, of 10 football pitches 바카라 사이트“ they brought it near to Swansea. Equally, that바카라 사이트™s why 26,000 small businesses have followed suit and set up right here in Wales since 2010.
Now, that openness I think also should be openness on behalf of government to partnerships with industry and with business. And today, I can announce a really important partnership we바카라 사이트™ve formed with Airbus, one of the most important, largest employers in Wales, making the wings of every Airbus plane that takes to the air. And today, I can announce that between Airbus and the government, we바카라 사이트™re going to be investing £100 million in technology: £64 million on research and development at the Aerospace Technology Institute, and £48 million at Broughton to upgrade systems and technologies. And that should help to safeguard the thousands of vital jobs in this aircraft manufacturing facility that I believe Britain can be so proud of.
Now, I know that today, some of you as well as me will be thinking of politics as well as economics. And I think there is a clear challenge here for all politicians 바카라 사이트“ perhaps for politicians right across Europe. And that is, after a long and deep recession, people want to know there will be secure jobs and growing incomes. They want the issues that worry them addressed properly. And above all, they want to know there바카라 사이트™s a good future for their families, for their children here in Britain. And I바카라 사이트™m certain that we have the right answers. And above all, it means a laser바카라 사이트‘like focus on those things that will really deliver the economic security that people crave: sticking to our plan, creating jobs, cutting people바카라 사이트™s taxes, helping people with the homes, the schools, the pensions, that they deserve.
But I also know what this challenge should not mean. No바카라 사이트‘one should peddle the idea that there are easy answers or shortcuts to success. There aren바카라 사이트™t. No바카라 사이트‘one should try and fool people that you can win in the world by cutting yourself off from it. And I think all of this brings a big political challenge. What sort of government do we need to make this happen? It needs to be strong. It needs to be able to look to the long term. It needs to be able to make difficult decisions. I know what is needed. I know what it takes. And the result last night makes me even more determined to deliver it and to secure Britain바카라 사이트™s future.
Investment into the UK
Now, the final thing I want to say is how we should use showcase events to try and show off the United Kingdom and attract investment. We did that with the Olympics in London; I think that was a stunning success. I think the success of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow also got people to look at the United Kingdom and Scotland again in terms of investment. I took the G8 to Northern Ireland, because I think that area of our country could use extra investment, and actually has got some fantastic skills and talents there. And of course, with NATO, coming here to Wales was, I think, a great showcase for Newport, for Cardiff, and for all of Wales.
It was actually the biggest summit ever held in the United Kingdom바카라 사이트™s long history of holding these events, and it was the perfect opportunity to show Wales to the world. And the response has been incredible. We바카라 사이트™ve had the sounds of the Welsh National Opera ringing out in Qatar, rarebit and Welsh cheese served in Washington DC, and Dylan Thomas바카라 사이트™s verse echoing through Greek streets. All of that thanks to the great work of UKTI and the Great Britain campaign, and I want to thank UKTI who are here today.
But the point is, I don바카라 사이트™t want that to be a one바카라 사이트‘off. The legacy of NATO shouldn바카라 사이트™t just be a safer world and a more united organisation; it should also be for more prosperity and opportunity for all our countries. That is why we바카라 사이트™re all here, and that is why I want the message to go out from this hall: Wales is coming back. The country that gave the world radar is pioneering the technologies of the future. The nation that made its way in coal mining is now leading the way in aerospace. The people of Wales are getting back to work.
New businesses are being started up. Apprentices are getting their training. And after some long, hard years, Wales is coming back. The Welsh dragon is roaring once more, so come here, invest, make the most of all that Wales has to offer. You won바카라 사이트™t regret it. You바카라 사이트™ll get a very warm welcome. And I know that바카라 사이트™s the case for the Welsh Assembly government; it바카라 사이트™s certainly the case for the United Kingdom government This is a great place to come and invest and grow, and I very much hope you바카라 사이트™ll do so. Thank you very much indeed.
Thank you very much. I always like to keep these things interactive, so questions and points from our business and other guests. Feel free; any questions you바카라 사이트™ve got, concerns about any economic or other issues, please fire away. Let바카라 사이트™s start over here.
Questions
Question
Prime Minister, you spoke about skills and apprentices. Could you set out your vision for the UK바카라 사이트™s universities as attractors of global talent and developing that for the UK?
Prime Minister
I think this is important, because I think there are some real advantages in our university sector, and also, there are one or two misconceptions that I think it바카라 사이트™s important to correct. What are the unique sales propositions for Britain? What are our USPs? We바카라 사이트™ve obviously got the language, we바카라 사이트™ve got the time zone, we바카라 사이트™ve got the membership of all these great organisations, whether the EU, NATO, G8, G20. We바카라 사이트™ve got the industrial and scientific heritage. But I would put right up there with all of those things the universities we have right across the United Kingdom, including great universities here in Wales, and I think there바카라 사이트™s more we can do to make them part of our future growth story.
We바카라 사이트™re increasingly seeing enterprise zones and other enterprise parks around our universities. I think we바카라 사이트™re trying to imitate the best in the world, in the United States, in terms of making sure we drive entrepreneurialism through our universities and create a lot of new businesses, and I think there are opportunities there. And so I바카라 사이트™m very excited about that.
The misconception I바카라 사이트™d like to correct is that 바카라 사이트“ and this is particularly important, I think, with a number of overseas businesses here 바카라 사이트“ is our universities are very much open for business; open for business in terms of collaboration with you, but also open to students coming from overseas. And this is important. There바카라 사이트™s no limit on the number of foreign students that can come to a British university, as long as they have an English language qualification and a place at a bona fide university. So there바카라 사이트™s no limit on that, and I think that바카라 사이트™s a very good sales proposition for British universities.
And also, if people want to stay and work for your businesses in Wales or in the rest of the United Kingdom, they can do that if they바카라 사이트™re in a graduate job. So, I think this is a very good offer too 바카라 사이트“ of course, we want to train up and educate British people as well, which is happening, but growing businesses also need talent from overseas, as well, and I think our universities very much offer that, and I wanted to explain that point, because I think it바카라 사이트™s important; it can sometimes get lost.
Question
I바카라 사이트™ve been working closely with Tech City, which I think has been a great success. And I just wanted to ask what your plans were for continuing to support technology start바카라 사이트‘ups across the UK, and hopefully get your commitment to continue to support them, maybe through Tech City or other means.
Prime Minister
Well thank you very much. So Tech City 바카라 사이트“ for visitors to this country may not have heard about it 바카라 사이트“ it is been a phenomenal success. This was basically in a part of East London where there was a growing hub of technology businesses that had started up, partly because they liked this bit of London. And a hub was being created. And what government saw was something that was happening and growing. We didn바카라 사이트™t try to invent it ourselves. We just asked the question, 바카라 사이트˜What can we do to get behind this successful hub?바카라 사이트™
And the answer was, 바카라 사이트˜We would like superfast broadband, we need more office space, we바카라 사이트™d like entrepreneur visas so it바카라 사이트™s easier to get other start-up businesses to come and visit. We want connections with universities and crucially, we want to make sure the Tech City can link up with other tech hubs around the country.바카라 사이트™ So Britain, I think, is doing very well in this space. If you compare us with others in Europe, I think we바카라 사이트™ve got one of the most exciting set of hubs of tech start바카라 사이트‘ups.
Now what more can we do? I think there is a whole lot of stuff but let me just give you a couple of examples. First of all, we바카라 사이트™re going to make it easier to start up and run a business. So we have to take the bureaucracy out of that. I want us to have a situation where it바카라 사이트™s one click on the internet to start a business. Already we have managed to reduce the number of days it takes, but I want us to do more.
But I think one of the pressing needs is going to be more young people coming out of our schools and colleges that are able to code. And so we are changing the way we teach ICT and we바카라 사이트™re making sure children as young as 6, I think, are now learning coding. And when I thought that was impossible, I asked to go and sit in on a class and find out how it works; and I바카라 사이트™ve seen it with my own eyes, this can work.
And I think it will make us one of the long바카라 사이트‘term digital tech start-up hubs in Europe, which I think is absolutely key to our future. It is where a lot of the future jobs are going to come from and we바카라 사이트™ve got to make sure we are training young people to be able to take on those roles.
Question
I바카라 사이트™ve got to thank you for your support on supporting technology development in the country through the administration, not just for aerospace, but across the patch. But could you share your thoughts on how we바카라 사이트™re going to maintain that momentum through to manufacturing exploitation beyond 2015?
Prime Minister
Well I think aerospace is just a classic example where you really do need the things I바카라 사이트™ve been talking about. You need great businesses that want to come and locate plants in Britain. You need universities that are turning out really skilled, brainy people that can come and help your businesses in the future.
And you need a government that is prepared to engage quite actively, sleeves rolled up, with businesses because your industry is a very long바카라 사이트‘term industry. The technology and the future models you바카라 사이트™re developing now, they need start up support and help because that could provide jobs and throughput for many, many years to come.
I think we바카라 사이트™re the second biggest aerospace player after the United States and we must keep that up. And I think it바카라 사이트™s long바카라 사이트‘term partnership, making sure our universities and making sure these new technological institutes, our so바카라 사이트‘called catapult centres, are delivering the technology for the future.
But I think we keep that partnership up, I don바카라 사이트™t see any reason why we should fall behind in aerospace. Can we go on manufacturing here as well as inventing and creating? I believe we can. Manufacturing has been growing as well as services and construction. Our economy is rebalancing which is very important.
But we have to keep efficient, we have to keep our costs down, have to keep taxes down 바카라 사이트“ all those things in order to make sure that we don바카라 사이트™t just create intellectual property here, we exploit it and manufacture it as well.
Question
You just mentioned in your speech that the trade and investment flows between China and UK is growing very fast, and also you are going to electrify the great Western railway in Wales.
And could you 바카라 사이트“ I바카라 사이트™m wondering, could you share with us your attitude towards Chinese high바카라 사이트‘speed train technology and relevant investments?
Prime Minister
Well thank you, thank you very 바카라 사이트“ I think the figures are that exports from the UK to China are up over 100% over the last 4 and a half years and we바카라 사이트™ve got a target with the Chinese that we바카라 사이트™ve set for our exports and we바카라 사이트™ve got to really make sure that we meet that. I바카라 사이트™ll just make 2 points.
First of all, we admire what the Chinese are doing in terms of high바카라 사이트‘speed rail. We wish we could build quite as fast as you do. We have some extra planning constraints, I think, that we have to deal with but we are very impressed by what is happening in China. But the real point I want to make is this: it바카라 사이트™s that, obviously Chinese businesses look all over the world and think about where best to invest. And I would argue that in Britain, you바카라 사이트™ve got real opportunities because not only have you got a growing economy, a business friendly government, low taxes, skilled workforce, excellent labour relations 바카라 사이트“ all the things you look for in a place to invest. You바카라 사이트™ve also got opportunities here in the UK that I don바카라 사이트™t think you get in many other countries.
We are so open to overseas investment that we don바카라 사이트™t see it as a source of sort of embarrassment that Chinese investors are invested in Thames Water or are invested in our major airports or are going to help us build our nuclear power station at Hinkley Point. We don바카라 사이트™t see that as some national humiliation as some countries might. We say, 바카라 사이트˜Good; that바카라 사이트™s what we want.바카라 사이트™ We바카라 사이트™ve always been in Britain an open economy that welcomes overseas investment as a way of investing in our infrastructure as well as technology and manufacturing and the rest of it.
And I think it바카라 사이트™s one of our strengths. Let바카라 사이트™s take the example of our automotive industry. You know, Britain is now a net exporter of cars again and if you think back to the 1970s and the problems we were having, this is an extraordinary success story and part of it has been based on Japanese investment, at Toyota and Honda, but also part of it recently has been based on Indian investment into the Jaguar/Land Rover brand which is, you know, a phenomenal international success story. And probably since I바카라 사이트™ve been Prime Minister, I think Jaguar Land Rover have created something like 5,000 high skilled jobs in the West Midlands.
So we really believe that our openness is one of our keys to our success and I think in terms of our message to Chinese and other investors is there are infrastructure, energy, road, rail opportunities that you might not find in other countries and we see that as a source of strength, not a source of weakness and so you are very welcome to make the investments that you do.
Can I wish you luck with the rest of the conference? Can I hope that many of you who바카라 사이트™ve got businesses in Wales will look to expand? Those that haven바카라 사이트™t yet invested in Wales will look to invest. You will always find a business friendly government, very much an open door to your ideas and if you바카라 사이트™ve got particular issues and concerns, you바카라 사이트™ve got here today, Ian Livingston, my Trade and Investment Minister. You바카라 사이트™ve got Stephen Crabb, the Secretary of State for Wales; his door is very much open to ideas and thinking.
So please, tell us what it is you want to see and we바카라 사이트™ll do everything we can to bring your business and bring success here to Wales. Thank you very much indeed.