IT has been almost a year since Labour came to power – and in that time we have made tough choices to steady our economy.
This government will never forget that the decisions we make impact your family’s finances.
Labour have a history of investing in people, pictured a cutting-edge semi-conductor lab in Newport[/caption]
In 1948 the NHS was founded by a Labour government[/caption]
You know what it means to work hard and make sacrifices when times are tough.
And while that has not been easy, the tide is beginning to turn.
Interest rates have been cut four times — a boost for everyone with a mortgage.
We raised the pay of millions of working people by up to £1,400 a year by increasing the national minimum wage.
In the last week, we have increased the number of children eligible for free school meals by half a million and announced £15billion to upgrade trains and buses outside London.
Now is the time to invest in Britain’s future, and that means doing things differently.
We are building a new economic model that puts working people first.
By investing in the industries of tomorrow, we will create good jobs, boost wages and put more money into people’s pockets.
Too often, governments get caught firefighting today’s problems, neglecting the opportunities of tomorrow.
But history shows us a different path.
After a post-war election victory in 1945, a Labour government created the NHS.
In the 1960s, we backed science and technology in the age of the “white heat”.
In the 1990s, we invested in people and public services, transforming lives.
Today, we must do the same, by backing British ideas and innovation.
Next week, the Chancellor will set out our plan to renew Britain’s economy by investing in your priorities: health, security and good jobs.
As part of that, we are announcing an £86billion investment in the UK’s fastest-growing sectors — tech, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and defence.
This money will fund cutting-edge medical research to tackle hard-to-treat diseases to help keep families together for longer.
It will support defence innovation to keep Britain safe in an increasingly volatile world.
‘Foundations for change’
And it will power advances in engineering biology that could revolutionise how we produce food, fuel, materials.
These investments will more than pay for themselves and will create thousands of well-paid jobs across the country.
And the decisions over where to spend the cash will not be made in Whitehall, but in the communities that will benefit, because we know every corner of Great Britain has a part to play.
We want to see Liverpool leveraging its expertise in life sciences to accelerate drug discovery; Northern Ireland harnessing its reputation for cutting-edge defence equipment to shore up our national security; and South Wales making the most of its expertise in designing cutting-edge semiconductors that power the devices like mobile phones and electric cars we rely on every day.
Labour PM Harold Wilson in the 1960s[/caption]
PM Tony Blair and deputy Gordon Brown in the 1990s[/caption]
We know the legacy of the past 14 years can’t be reversed overnight.
But the tough decisions we have made are laying the foundations for lasting change.
Now, we are entering a new phase, focused on long-term renewal and economic strength.
The principle is simple: invest through tough times to grow stronger.
We see this in the business world constantly.
Like the American tech company that, in the 1990s, was 90 days from bankruptcy before doubling down on innovation.
That company was Apple, and today many of you are reading this on one of their products.
Britain has always led the world when we bet on ourselves.
Led the world
James Watt’s steam engine powered the Industrial Revolution.
Work at Bletchley Park laid the foundations for modern computing.
Tim Berners-Lee invented the worldwide web.
Today, we are global leaders in life sciences and among the top three countries for AI development.
These strengths are not just academic — they represent opportunity. Industries that generate billions, improve lives and offer quality jobs for the next generation.
We believe Britain’s best days are still ahead.
That’s why we are investing in our people, in innovation, in the future.
The road won’t always be easy, but we are building a stronger, fairer economy that works for everyone.
