Speaking at a conference of chief executives in London, the Prime Minister appeared to accept that the nation’s fortunes were diminishing and its place on the world stage was in decline but stressed this process was reversible by getting to grips with the economic crisis helped by the wealth of British talent.
He said: “Too many people in this country are living under the delusion that a prosperous past guarantees a prosperous future but it isn’t written anywhere that this country deserves a place at the top table.”
Cameron argued economic prosperity has to be renewed by each generation and that “just because we’ve had it before doesn’t mean we’ll automatically get it again. The world doesn’t owe us a living, Britain has to earn a living”.
The PM stressed the nation faced the challenge of “rebooting and rebuilding” its economy and needed courage and a clear strategy to do it.
This meant making the Government live within its means by bringing down the record deficit, making work pay by reforming the benefits system and ensuring Britain earned its way in the world by becoming a magnet for investment.
He went on: “Ever since it was said Britain has lost an empire but not yet found a role, there has been a lot of anxiety about our future, about our declining place on the world stage and our diminishing fortunes with it. But I passionately believe that decline is not inevitable.”
He added: “Britain is blessed by huge advantages – language, universities, established industries, ingenuity, openness and talent. These are the old advantages and there is a new one too – a growing attitude across the country that we are going to deal with these debts and fight not just for our survival but for our success too.”
Today the Cabinet gathers for its first meeting outwith London – in Yorkshire with the expectation of a key announcement on inward investment for those parts of the country beyond the comparatively prosperous south- east of England.
Later today, Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will be the first UK Government minister to address the Scottish Parliament’s Finance Committee when he will stress that without the tough measures of the Budget things would be much harsher later on.
He will again underline how it is the Government’s intention to grow the private sector in Scotland to enable it to lessen its reliance on the public sector; at present, one-in-four jobs north of the border is paid for by the taxpayer.
However, the tough Budget is causing concern among LibDem ranks with backbenchers calling for an assessment of the VAT hike before it is implemented.
Today, a Comres poll shows how LibDem fortunes have tumbled since the election with the party down five points on 18%. The Tories are up five on 40% while Labour is on 31%, up one.
Elsewhere, LibDem discontent was expressed over plans to target welfare payments, including Incapacity Benefit and Disability Living Allowance.
Lynne Featherstone, the Home Office minister, said previous attempts to get people off benefits was “variable at best”. She added: “We need to be sure that there is no perverse incentive to determine that someone can work when they cannot.”
Yvette Cooper for Labour said it would be deeply unfair if the welfare system were changed simply to achieve an arbitrary target for spending cuts.
The SNP’s Eilidh Whiteford added: “While supporting benefit reform, genuinely vulnerable individuals must not become an easy target for Con/Dem cuts.”
