THE Prime Minister is to set out a progrowth agenda in his keynote speech to the Conservative Party conference this week.
David Cameron is expected to pledge Government backing for the entrepreneurs and risk-takers he believes will help turn the economy around.
His speech is a reply to critics, including Andrew Tyrie, the influential chairman of the Commons Treasury committee, that the Government does not have a coherent strategy for growth.
On the eve of the conference, Mr Tyrie said the Government’s policies on growth were “incoherent, even inconsistent”.
In a paper for the Centre for Policy Studies, he called for a new plan to boost the economy, alongside the existing plan to cut the deficit.
So far, the public spending cuts have not been accompanied by plans for reform.
What little money is available to help create jobs is taking too long to reach regions such as the North- East. Businesses still complain that red tape is stifling innovation.
In his speech today, George Osborne will strike an upbeat note, saying Britain is on the road to recovery and remains a “can do” country.
Yet the burden of red tape grows almost daily. The Tory-led Government has to find a way of pruning the worst if it wants to get Britain moving.
It could start by speeding up delivery of the £450m regional growth fund which has yet to hand over any money six months after it was given the go-ahead.
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