29 September 2022
The Government’s Growth Plan

The PM and Chancellor are right to highlight the longstanding problem of top-down Treasury command and control, which has removed the incentives and freedom for local leaders to deliver growth. 

BUT.  To succeed, any plan for Growth requires 3 key things: 

1. The confidence of the financial markets to prevent an inflation and interest rate crisis. 

2. Much more targeting of the energy and tax relief to help the most vulnerable businesses and households, instead of tax cuts for the well-off. 

3. Support and investment for the small businesses that create jobs and the high growth innovation economy such as here at the Norwich Research Park. 

With the right economic package, Norfolk can deliver serious sustainable long term growth. But this won’t happen if the markets are in freefall forcing interest rates to rise, risking a housing crash, deeper recession and less investment. 

I’m no longer in Government, but will be making the case as a backbencher that my constituents want to see the right balance between targeted cost-of-living relief and help for small businesses in our local economy.  

I hope that the PM and Chancellor will look again at the package to get the balance right.

This is now a serious crisis with a lot at stake. A time for cool heads and calm leadership.

The economic package of borrowing and tax cuts announced last week clearly can't command market or voter confidence.

The Cabinet must meet fast to agree with the PM and Chancellor a Plan B that can hold.

Question to the Chancellor – Growth Plan

We need growth that delivers – productivity, inward investment, competitiveness, opportunity AND levelling up.

That means innovation-led growth for all parts of the UK and NOT an overheated SE trickle-down service economy based on cheap labour.

My Question to the Chancellor on the new Government’s Growth Plan below.