00:00When Constantine says, I've got a strong background in policy, what he really means is, I've been around for a
00:05while.
00:06But it's great to be back with you again. You're right, we've done a number of events over the years
00:11together.
00:12Thank you all for joining me today.
00:15As Defence Secretary, I spoke about the defence industry as an engine for growth.
00:22As Chancellor, I speak for the whole economy.
00:25And businesses of all sizes, in all sectors, are so critical to the good growth we seek to secure in
00:35this country.
00:36For delivering the investment, the innovation, the re-industrialisation that our economy needs.
00:42Lifting the pessimism that has eroded not just the public's confidence, but has eroded our own prosperity.
00:51And my message to British business is quite simple.
00:56To British businesses, to British innovators, to British investors, I will back you as your Chancellor.
01:04And I'll back you in financial services, in technology, in retail, in industry, in all parts of the economy.
01:18And I know things haven't been easy.
01:21We talk a lot in government about the cost of living.
01:24And that's right, people have been facing increasing pressures.
01:29They've been feeling that lack of a breathing space in their life.
01:34But so have all of you.
01:37And I'm just as concerned about the cost of business as I am about the cost of living.
01:44Tax, energy, supply chain costs, labour.
01:48I know that businesses, large and small, have felt really squeezed.
01:52And when the Prime Minister and I talk about building a new economy that helps people live well,
01:59that must involve stepping up our support for and work with business.
02:08You're the people who invest in individuals, invest in your businesses.
02:14You're the ones who can ensure prosperity in every part of the country.
02:19And over the last few days, last few days, this is the start of my third full day in the
02:26job.
02:26So, let's just say over the last two days, I've set out my priorities as Chancellor.
02:33And they're fivefold.
02:35First, fiscal discipline.
02:37Fiscal credibility is the bedrock of economic stability, just as it is of national security.
02:45And the Prime Minister and I have talked together about how we will work in lockstep to ensure that we
02:54meet our fiscal rules with a buffer against uncertainty.
02:58Second, growth in every postcode.
03:00With every government department being a growth department, making the fullest possible use of public investment within our fiscal framework
03:11and bringing private and international investment capital to back Britain.
03:19Third, backing Britain.
03:22Buying British as a government at all levels, not just if possible, but by design.
03:33So that every procurement pound in Britain works to support British jobs, British apprenticeships, British skills and British innovation.
03:44In transport, in energy, in AI, in tech, in defence.
03:50Fourth, driving wealth creation.
03:54I want government decisions to raise the levels of investment, of innovation, of confidence and of profit in British-based
04:07businesses.
04:08And I want Britain, just as I argued in defence, to become the best place in the world for those
04:16with ideas who want to start and grow a business.
04:19And fifth, to make life more affordable, bringing down the cost of living, but also the cost of doing business,
04:28helping to give people a greater control over their lives again.
04:33And I hope what you've started to see in this first week of this new government is that we're a
04:39government about practical action.
04:40So we've cut tax on electricity bills for households.
04:46We've capped bus fares to £2 in 2007.
04:51And this morning we've capped business rates for some of those businesses in our town centres that make the places
05:01we live in the places we also love.
05:06We are just four days in for the Prime Minister, three days in for me.
05:11This is just the start.
05:13We know we've got a lot further to go.
05:15And I know that to achieve my ambitions, the Prime Minister's ambitions for this country, which is to help people
05:23now to keep public finances stable, to build an economy that works for every part of Britain.
05:30We cannot do that without you, the wealth creators, without you, the job creators, strong British businesses here in the
05:40city and right across the UK.
05:42You create the jobs, you attract the investment, you are the engine of growth and confidence in this country.
05:52Thank you for the work that you do.
05:54Thank you for the leadership that you provide.
05:57Thank you for the innovation that you drive.
06:01I want us to deepen our government's relationship, our Treasury's relationship with business.
06:10I want us to deepen it based on a shared ambition for Britain, not just an ambition for success in
06:19this square mile, but for every part of the country, or as the Prime Minister would say, in every postcode.
06:27I hope, as you've seen, the Prime Minister and I put together the Treasury team, you'll be pleased to see
06:33Lucy Rigby back as a Treasury Minister.
06:39Many of you will have dealt with her before.
06:42And I hope you see this as a consistency of purpose for the approach that we will continue to take
06:48to the growth and competitiveness of the financial services.
06:54And finally, I hope you'll see the appointment of David Pitt Watson in the Lords as a way of reinforcing
07:01that commitment to the city, to the financial services at the heart of our flourishing future British economy.
07:11For now, this is really a day three discussion, an opportunity, really, particularly for me to hear directly from you
07:21about the things that you believe I, as your Chancellor, now need to do.
07:26And how we together, led by the Treasury, led by me as Chancellor, can make this country more productive, more
07:41competitive, more confident as a UK economy.
07:46Thank you all.
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