Tag: 2014

Below is the text of the speech made by David Cameron, the Prime Minister, on 7th February 2014 at the Lee Valley VeloPark.

I want to thank Glasgow Caledonian for co-hosting this event.

This is a fantastic, forward-looking university – and we are very grateful for your support today as we are to the Lee Valley VeloPark, for hosting us in this magnificent space.

Less than 2 years ago, this Velodrome was a cauldron of excitement.

Chris Hoy was ripping around at 40 miles per hour I was up there, I had a whole seat but believe me, I only used the edge.

3 more golds – an incredible night.

But for me, the best thing about the Olympics wasn’t the winning.

It was the red, the white, the blue.

It was the summer that patriotism came out of the shadows and into the sun.

Everyone cheering as one for Team GB.

And it’s Team GB I want to talk about today.

Our United Kingdom.

Last year, the date for the Scottish referendum was fixed.

The countdown was set.

And today, we have just over 7 months until that vote.

Centuries of history hang in the balance; a question mark hangs over the future of our United Kingdom.

If people vote yes in September, then Scotland will become an independent country.

There will be no going back.

As I have made clear, this is a decision that is squarely and solely for those in Scotland to make.

I passionately believe it is in their interests to stay in the UK.

That way Scotland has the space to take decisions, while still having the security that comes with being part of something bigger.

From Holyrood they can decide what happens in every hospital, school and police station in Scotland and in the UK, Scotland is part of a major global player.

These are the arguments we will keep on putting til September 18th.

It is their choice, their vote.

But my argument today is that while only 4 million people can vote in this referendum, all 63 million of us are profoundly affected.

There are 63 million of us who could wake up on September 19th in a different country, with a different future ahead of it.

That’s why this speech is addressed not so much to the people of Scotland, but to the people of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Within these countries there are a whole range of different views about this referendum.

There are those I’d call the ‘quiet patriots’: people who love the UK, love our flag and our history – but think there’s nothing much they can do to encourage Scotland to stay in the UK so they stay out of the debate.

There are the ‘shoulder shruggers’: people who are ambivalent about the outcome, who think this doesn’t matter much to anyone South of the border.

Their view is that if Scotland left the UK then yes, that would be sad, but we could just wave them a wistful goodbye and carry on as normal.

And then there are those – a few – who think we’d be better off if Scotland did leave the UK, that this marriage of nations has run its course and needs a divorce.

Today I want to take on all these views: the idea we’d be better off without Scotland, the idea that this makes no difference to the rest of the UK and the idea that however much we might care, we in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can have no voice in this debate because we don’t have a vote.

All the above are wrong.

We would be deeply diminished without Scotland.

This matters to all our futures.

And everyone in the UK can have a voice in this debate.

I want to make this case by putting forward what, to me, are the 4 compelling reasons why the United Kingdom is stronger with Scotland in it:

The first is our connections with each other.

Over 3 centuries we’ve lived together, worked together – and frankly we’ve got together getting married, having children, moving back and forwards across borders.

Such is the fusion of our bloodlines that my surname goes back to the West Highlands and by the way, I am as proud of my Scottish heritage as I am of my English heritage.

The name Cameron might mean ‘crooked nose’ but the clan motto is “Let us unite” – and that’s exactly what we in these islands have done.

Today 800,000 Scots live elsewhere in the UK and more than 400,000 people who were born in the rest of the UK now live in Scotland.

And there are millions of people who do business over the border every single day, like the farmers in Lincolnshire who grow some of the barley that’s used in Scotch whisky.

The United Kingdom is an intricate tapestry, millions of relationships woven tight over more than 3 centuries.

That’s why, for millions of people, there is no contradiction in being proud of your Scottishness, Englishness, Britishness – sometimes all at once.

Some say none of this would change with independence, that these connections would stay as strong as ever.

But the fact is: all these connections – whether business or personal – are eased and strengthened by the institutional framework of the UK.

When the Acts of Union were passed, the role of the state was limited to things like defence, taxes and property rights.

Since then the state has transformed beyond recognition and our institutions have grown together like the roots of great trees, fusing together under the foundations of our daily lives.

You don’t need a customs check when you travel over the border, you don’t have to get out your passport out at Carlisle, you don’t have to deal with totally different tax systems and regulations when you trade and you don’t have to trade in different currencies.

Our human connections – our friendships, relationships, business partnerships – they are underpinned because we are all in the same United Kingdom and that is reason number 1 we are stronger together.

The second is our prosperity.

Some people look at the United Kingdom only in terms of debit and credit columns, tax and spend and how that gets split between our 4 nations.

But that completely misses the bigger picture.

This is a world that has been through massive economic storms where economic competition is heating up as never before, where we have to work harder than ever just to make a living.

And in that world of uncertainty, we are quite simply stronger as a bigger entity – an open economy of 63 million people with the oldest and most successful single market in the world with one of the oldest and most successful currencies in the world.

This stability is hugely attractive for investors.

Last year we were the top destination for foreign direct investment in Europe.

That is a stamp of approval on our stability – and I would not want to jeopardise that.

But let me be clear.

The central part of my economic argument for the UK is not about what we’d lose if we pulled apart – but what we could gain in this world if we stay together.

This government has set out a long-term economic plan for Britain: getting behind enterprise, dealing with our debts, a plan to give the people of this country peace of mind and security for the future.

And this isn’t just a plan, it’s a vision.

The UK as the big European success story of this century moving from an island sinking under too much debt, too much borrowing and too much taxation to a country that’s dynamic, exporting, innovating, creating.

Scotland is right at the heart of that vision.

Why?

I could give you a list of the Scottish strengths – their historic universities like Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow and St. Andrews; great industries: from food processing to financial services, from ship-building to science.

But it’s not about Scotland’s strengths as some sort of bolt-on extra.

It’s about what we, the constituent parts of the UK, can achieve together.

The power of collaboration.

It’s there in our past when the Scottish enlightenment met the industrial revolution: intellectual endeavour and commercial might combining to shape global economic ideas.

And that power of collaboration is there today.

Together we’re stronger at getting out there and selling our products to the world.

Like Scotch whisky.

Whether I’m in India or China, there’s barely a meeting where I don’t bang the drum for whisky abroad.

Of course, the First Minister fights hard for those deals too but the clout we have as a United Kingdom gives us a much better chance of getting around the right tables, bashing down trade barriers, getting deals signed.

The result – Scotch whisky adds £135 to the UK’s balance of payments every single second.

And together we’re stronger to lead in the industries of the future.

Like green energy.

We have the wind and the waves of Scotland, decades of North Sea experience in Aberdeen and with the rest of the UK – a domestic energy market of tens of millions of people to drive and support these new industries.

2 years ago we set up the Green Investment Bank.

Based in Edinburgh, it’s invested across the UK, helping a Scottish distillery to fit sustainable biomass boilers, financing a new energy centre at Addenbrooke’s hospital in Cambridge.

This is what happens when we collaborate.

We’ve come through the great recession together.

Our deficit down by a third.

Our economy growing.

Our exports to China doubled.

And I believe we stand a much, much better chance of building a more prosperous future together.

The third reason we’re stronger together is our place in the world.

Together, we get a seat at the UN Security Council, real clout in NATO and Europe, the prestige to host events like the G8.

Together we’ve got the finest armed forces on the planet.

I think of the fighter pilots originally operating from RAF Lossiemouth who flew sorties over Libya, the legendary Scottish titles now part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, like the Black Watch and the Highlanders.

I think of the shipyards on the Forth and Clyde, where – alongside shipyards across the UK – they are building the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier launching this year to secure the seas and keep us safe.

Now to some, all this might sound like national vanity.

It’s the view that if the UK split up and our role in the world shrank, it wouldn’t matter so much.

But this is a country that earns its living through international ties with millions of our citizens living abroad.

When ships are ambushed on lawless seas – that hits our trade.

When the middle class in China is set to grow by millions a year – that presents huge opportunities for jobs back home in the UK.

This world shapes us – so our place in the world matters.

And make no mistake: we matter more as a United Kingdom – politically, militarily, diplomatically – and culturally too.

Our reach is about much more than military might – it’s about our music, film, TV, fashion.

The UK is the soft power super power.

You get teenagers in Tokyo and Sydney listening to Emeli Sandé.

People in Kazakhstan and Taiwan watching BBC exports like Sherlock written by a Scot a hundred years ago, played by an Englishman today – and created for TV by a Scotsman.

The World Service – transmitting to hundreds of millions.

Famously Aung San Suu Kyi has said it helped her through her long years of detention, saying: “Everywhere I have been, the BBC has been with me.”

And the BBC itself – founded by a Scotsman.

My wife is an ambassador for the British Fashion Council and she sees – and raves about – the international impact of our fashion, helped along massively by Scottish designers like Christopher Kane and Jonathan Saunders.

Sometimes, we can forget just how big our reputation is that the world over the letters “UK” stand for unique, brilliant, creative, eccentric, ingenious.

We come as a brand – a powerful brand.

Separating Scotland out of that brand would be like separating the waters of the River Tweed and the North Sea.

If we lost Scotland, if the UK changed, we would rip the rug from under our own reputation.

The plain fact is we matter more in the world together.

These are all compelling practical reasons for the UK to stick together.

But – pounds and pence and institutional questions; that’s not what it’s really about, for me.

It’s about the slave who escaped his master after the American Revolution because he was offered liberty and land by the British crown.

In gratitude, he re-named himself this: British Freedom.

It’s about Lord Lovat on the beach on D-Day, the bagpipes playing as his brigade landed ashore.

It’s about HMS Sheffield, HMS Glasgow, HMS Antrim, HMS Glamorgan grey ships ploughing through grey seas for 8,000 miles to the Falkland Islands – and for what?

For freedom.

Because this is a country that has never been cowed by bullies and dictators.

This is a country that stands for something.

And this, really, is why I’m standing here today:

Our shared values.

Freedom. Solidarity. Compassion.

Not just overseas, but at home.

In this country, we don’t walk on by when people are sick when people lose work when people get old.

When you talk about an Englishman, a Welshman, a Scotsman, a Northern Irishman it might sound like the beginning of a bad joke but here it’s how we started our NHS, our welfare system, our state pension system.

And these values aren’t trapped in the pages of a history book – they are alive.

When the people of Benghazi were crying out for help when a girl in Pakistan was shot for wanting an education when children around the world are desperate for food we don’t walk on by.

And let’s be clear.

Our values are not just a source of pride for us, they are a source of hope for the world.

In 1964, Nelson Mandela stood in the dock in the Pretoria Supreme Court.

He was making the case for his life, against apartheid – and in that speech he invoked the example of Britain:

He said: “I have great respect for British political institutions, and for the country’s system of justice. I regard the British Parliament as the most democratic institution in the world…”

Our Parliament, our laws, our way of life – so often, down the centuries, the UK has given people hope.

We’ve shown that democracy and prosperity can go hand in hand, that resolution is found not through the bullet, but the ballot box.

Our values are of value to the world.

In the darkest times in human history there has been, in the North Sea, a light that never goes out.

And if this family of nations broke up, something very powerful and precious would go out forever.

So there is a moral, economic, geopolitical, diplomatic and yes – let’s say it proudly – an emotional case for keeping the United Kingdom together.

But still, however strongly we feel – we are a reticent nation.

It can seem vulgar to fly the flag.

Some people have even advised me to stay out of this issue – and not to get too sentimental about the UK.

But frankly, I care far too much to stay out of it.

This is personal.

I have an old copy of Our Island Story, my favourite book as a child and I want to give it to my 3 children, and I want to be able to teach my youngest when she’s old enough to understand, that she is part of this great, world-beating story.

And I passionately hope that my children will be able to teach their children the same; that the stamp on their passport is a mark of pride that together, these islands really do stand for something more than the sum of our parts, they stand for bigger ideals, nobler causes, greater values. Our great United Kingdom: brave, brilliant, buccaneering, generous, tolerant, proud – this is our country.

And we built it together.

Brick by brick: Scotland, England, Wales, Northern Ireland. Brick by brick.

This is our home – and I could not bear to see that home torn apart.

I love this country.

I love the United Kingdom and all it stands for.

And I will fight with all I have to keep us together.

And so I want to be clear to everyone listening.

There can be no complacency about the result of this referendum.

The outcome is still up in the air and we have just 7 months to go.

7 months to do all we can to keep our United Kingdom as one.

7 months to save the most extraordinary country in history.

And we must do whatever it takes.

So to everyone in England, Wales and Northern Ireland – everyone, like me, who cares about the United Kingdom, I want to say this: you don’t have a vote, but you do have a voice.

Those voting are our friends, neighbours and family.

You do have an influence.

Get on the phone, get together, email, tweet, speak. Let the message ring out from Manchester to Motherwell, from Pembrokeshire to Perth, from Belfast to Bute, from us to the people of Scotland – let the message be this:

We want you to stay.

Think of what we’ve done together – what we can do together – what we stand for together.

Team GB.

The winning team in world history.

Let us stick together for a winning future too.

Below is the text of the speech made by David Cameron, the Prime Minister, at Chinese New Year Celebrations in Downing Street on 3rd February 2014.

Good evening. A very warm welcome to everyone here tonight. It’s wonderful to be able to have another Chinese New Year party here at Number 10 Downing Street, and you’re all extraordinarily welcome.

The purpose of tonight is to celebrate, and I think we have a number of good things to celebrate. We can celebrate the extraordinary success of modern China. I was so struck by this on the recent visit that I made and the very good meetings I had with the President and the Premier, the huge business delegation that I took. China is set once again to become the world’s largest economy, a position it has held for 18 of the last 20 centuries, so in many ways the order is being restored. And it’s worth remembering that in that extraordinary economic performance, more than 700 million people have been taken out of poverty; more people lifted out of poverty than in any other country at any other time in the world. So, there’s a huge amount to celebrate in this extraordinary success that is modern China.

But I also think there’s a lot to celebrate in terms of our relationship with China. We’ve seen great strides in terms of our economic relationship since this government came to office; I think we have doubled trade between Britain and China. And one of the things that is so striking, and that I believe is at the heart of the British-Chinese relationship, is the openness of the British economy to Chinese investment. It’s great, for instance, that we can say there’s no limit on the number of Chinese students who can come and study in Britain. They need to have a degree place, and a basic English language qualification, and we welcome those students.

But we also welcome the most extraordinary diverse range of Chinese investment into our economy, and not just in sectors that are easy to invest in, but also we welcome investment in infrastructure, investment in our nuclear industry, investment in our water industry. And I was very struck by what my new best friend Mr Wang of the Wanda Group said to me when he said that he thought that America was better to invest in than Europe, but the best of all was Britain. And I thought that was a great testament that he takes that view.

I hugely enjoyed the visit that I made, and I hope it brought Chinese and British relations to a new level. There were many highlights to the trip; obviously the meetings with the President and the Premier, the visit to Chengdu for the Chengdu hot pot, but in many ways, one of the highlights for me was that extraordinary banquet we held in Shanghai with 600 Chinese businesses, and we were talking about business and investment and all the things that we could do together.

And I thought it was important also to talk about the cultural relationship between Britain and China. And I’ll never forget the Director of the National Theatre talking about War Horse, and saying that War Horse was going to come to China and here was a small preview. And then Joey the horse came cantering into that extraordinary hall in Shanghai, and the gasp that went up from the audience about this incredibly impressive feat.

The third thing we must celebrate tonight is what Chinese people bring to our country here in Britain. We don’t have a huge Chinese diaspora in our country, but we have a diaspora that contributes hugely more than the numbers suggest, contributing massively in business, in the arts, in culture, of course, in one of my favourite things which is Chinese food. But it’s really worth noting that when you look across all the different people who live in the UK, the Chinese in Britain are some of the most hardworking, some of the most best educated, some of the most law abiding, some of the most solid citizens of our country. Chinese teenagers – almost 78% of them – get 5 good GCSEs, and I wish that was the case for every child in our country. That is a full 20 points ahead of the average. So, we really welcome what Chinese people bring to our country here in Britain and the amazing contribution that you make.

So, I hope you enjoy tonight, coming to Number 10 Downing Street, coming to celebrate Chinese New Year. ‘Xin Nian Kuai Le’ (Happy New Year).

Below is the text of the speech made by David Cameron, the Prime Minister, on 27th January 2014 in Downing Street, London.

Can I just say an incredibly warm welcome to Number 10 Downing Street. I have to say, as Prime Minister in the last 3 and a half years I’ve had some extraordinary gatherings of people in this room, but I don’t think there’s been a more extraordinary gathering or a gathering I’ve been prouder to have than having you here tonight, on this Holocaust Day – a day when we remember the darkest hour of our human history, the Holocaust; a day when we decide to put away all and fight all forms of prejudice and hatred; a day when we think of the dreadful genocides that have taken place since the Holocaust. And it’s wonderful to welcome people here from Cambodia, from Rwanda, from Bosnia. It is an enormously proud day to have you in this room sharing these stories together.

And the stories I’ve heard tonight are just unbelievable stories. People who escaped from the Warsaw Ghetto. People – someone was telling me who was in 2 ghettos, 2 slave labour camps, 2 concentration camps. People who came here as part of the Kindertransport. Someone who showed me their diary, which their grandfather had written in in July in 1939 in Prague, and wrote in that diary, ‘Wherever you go, be a great daughter to the country that gives you a home.’

What I can say to the 50 Holocaust survivors here tonight: you have been incredible children, incredible lives you’ve lived; you’ve lived 10, 20 lives over for all those who died and all those who didn’t make it. And you are an amazing example to all of us. The bravery that you show by going into schools and colleges and communities and talking about the Holocaust and what happened is just so brave, it takes my breath away. I would have thought it would be so easy to want to forget, to stop thinking, to stop talking, but you showed incredible courage and bravery. And having 50 of you here tonight makes me incredibly proud to be Prime Minister of a nation with such extraordinary people in it. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Meeting you all makes me realise what a sacred task the Holocaust Commission has to carry out, and can I thank Mick Davis for chairing it, can I thank the Chief Rabbi, can I thank the survivors who are going to serve on it. We have the heads of some of our best museums. We have people from the worlds of television and film. We have politicians of all parties – we have Simon Hughes from the Liberal Democrats, Ed Balls from Labour, Michael Gove from the Conservatives – can I thank you all for the work you’re going to do. We’ve got fabulous historians, like Simon Sebag Montefiore. We’ve got so many people who are going to carry out this sacred and vital task.

And it is so important because there will be a time when it won’t be possible for survivors to go into our schools and to talk about their experiences, and to make sure we learn the lessons of the dreadful events that happened. And so, the sacred task is to think, ‘How are we best going to remember, to commemorate and to educate future generations of children?’ In 50 years’ time, in 2064, when a young British Christian child or a young British Muslim child or a young British Jewish child wants to learn about the Holocaust, and we as a country want them to learn about the Holocaust, where are they going to go? Who’re they going to listen to? What images will they see? How can we make sure in 2064 that it is as vibrant and strong a memory as it is today, with all of you standing here in this room?

That is the challenge that I have set them. It’s a vitally important task. I can’t think of a more talented group of people to carry it out, but please, as survivors, tell them what you think. Tell them what you want to be as part of this commemoration. You have spent so much time talking about your memories and reminding all of us how we must never forget. One lady I was talking to had already spoken to 6 schools today; I thought I’d had a tough day! That is an amazing thing to do, and you do this day in and day out.

So, I promise you this: the Holocaust Commission chaired by Mick Davis with all those people on it, and this government ready to help, and politicians of all parties ready to help – we will not let you down. Tell us what you think we should do and let us make sure we commemorate these dreadful events, and make sure that here in Britain no one ever forgets what happened and we swear together: never again.

Thank you.

Below is the Q&A following the speech made by David Cameron, the Prime Minister, at the Federation of Small Businesses on 27th January 2014.

Question

Prime Minister, first of all thank you so much for coming today to the FSB’s first policy conference. Your clear commitment to engaging with us and with small firms is fantastic to see. We very much welcomed the announcement at the Autumn Statement of the support you’re giving for business rates, but day in, day out, our members are still telling us that that is the biggest problem that they face going forwards. With 7% of small firms paying more in rates than rent, will you finally tackle this by looking at how you could ensure a complete reform occurs?

Answer

Thank you. Well, first of all, thank you very much for the welcome.

On business rates, let me just first of all state a truism, but it is important with all of this. Whatever tax we’re looking at that we don’t like – and frankly, I don’t really like any taxes – but whatever tax it is, there is one truism, which is: you can only get taxes down or keep taxes down if you’re prepared to make difficult decisions about spending. [Political content removed]

On business rates, I completely recognise what you say. It is, I think, businesses’ – particularly small businesses’ – number one complaint. We tried to address it in the Autumn Statement with, I think, a reasonable package; by capping the increase at 2%, by the £1,000 rebate, particularly for the retail and restaurant premises on the high street that I think have been really hit by the internet shopping revolution; and obviously we’ve extended the small business relate – relief scheme.

I think we do need to look at longer-term reform. It’s not going to be easy, because rates raise, whatever it is – around £24 billion – and I don’t think there is any one solution that is going to make everybody happy. But I think we’ve got to start addressing this issue and understanding – particularly this issue about internet retailing and high-street retailing. I’m passionate about our high-streets. I represent some lovely market towns in Oxfordshire. They’re doing pretty well, actually, because they’ve kept free parking – they haven’t made that mistake – and they’ve encouraged big retailers into the centre of town and made space available. But it’s going to be a growing issue, and I think it needs more work – I agree with you, sir.

Question

You’re asking us what you can do for us. I have one request, please. As regards the banks, could you please ask the credit rating system to be changed? For my personal business is actually doing really very well, but my own private, personal credit rating is poor because I’ve had a business failure in the past. In America they celebrate business failure – you’re not counted as a business unless you’ve had numerous failures behind you. In this country, as soon as you fail in a business, you have a poor personal credit rating – doesn’t matter how well your business is doing, you cannot get assistance financially.

Answer

I think it’s a very good point. I think it’s a cultural point here, which, as you say, in America, serial entrepreneurship, where not every step works out, is not seen as a disaster; it’s seen as a learning process, and that’s what brave entrepreneurs do. And I think we need to change the culture here, so we celebrate that sort of buccaneering style as well. I think that’s the first point.

On the banks I think it has probably, along with the rating system, been the number one small business complaint. When I look at the overall figures now for gross lending to small businesses, there does seem to be some improvement, but I’m still hearing too many stories of people being asked for personal guarantees and putting their flat or their house on the line to get the loan. Whenever I get them, I follow them up, often individually with the bank concerned to get to the bottom of why these practices are still being followed.

Your point about personal credit ratings – I’d like to take that one away. I’ve got my top team from the Number 10 policy unit sitting here. We’ve also got Lex Greenhill – Lex, where are you? Give us a wave. Thank you very much. Lex is sorting out the whole supply chain finance issue for us, which is often a very good way of small businesses helping small businesses to get credit and to get a finance when they’re part of a supply chain. So we’re working on the whole solution, but I take your point very much about personal credit ratings too.

Question

Prime Minister, you say you believe in a recovery for all. How do you respond to figures today showing 10 times as many jobs are being created in London as elsewhere? And just while I’m on the capital, how do you respond to Boris Johnson’s call to further reduce the top rate of tax?

Answer

Well first of all, on the issue of job figures, if you actually take the last 2 years – so, up to the present day – we’ve created – the last million jobs created, three quarters of them were created outside London. So, look, if I look across the country, do I want to see even more growth and even more jobs in our regions? Yes I do. We’ve got to work even harder to get a really balanced recovery? Yes, of course we have. But actually, employment has grown in every region of our country, and actually the second fastest‑growing region in terms of jobs outside London is Yorkshire and the Humberside.

So we need to make sure that happens, and we have a plan for making that happen. That’s why we’re building the roads and railways; that’s why we’re investing in the super-fast broadband; that’s why we’re doing city deals with all of the major cities of our country, to make sure we scour Whitehall for every scheme and every extra bit of money to try and leverage in jobs and investment in those cities. So we’ve got a plan, we’ve got a programme; I think that plan and programme are working, but we really need to work at making sure this is a balanced recovery across our country.

Question

You mentioned something very lightly, which is immigration, and I’m just interested in your comments on what you’re doing with immigration, because public attitudes are tough, public attitudes are anxious, but they’re not anxious about skilled migration, they’re not anxious about business entrepreneurs, they’re not anxious about job creators. And I think with your narrative about the global race, I’m just interested in the comment you make, because you said it’s part of your economic plan, but if the public isn’t anxious about international students and these job creators, then don’t you think that your policies on the business side are actually at risk of damaging our economic growth and our recovery?

Answer

What I would say is I think public attitudes on immigration are sensible and well-informed. The British public recognises the fact that there has been very large, large-scale immigration over recent years, and politicians have not properly addressed this. In fact, in some circumstances, like the decision in 2004 to allow unfettered access to British markets of the 8 countries who then joined the European Union, actually made the situation worse. And the public, I don’t think, are being at all unreasonable in saying can we please have a government and can we have a Prime Minister who takes this issue seriously and puts in place a proper balanced and sensible immigration system? And that is exactly what I’m doing.

And I make it part of my economic plan for this reason. Immigration policy on its own is not really worth very much. What you need is an immigration policy – proper controls on who’s allowed to come and work and live here – you need to combine that with a proper welfare policy, so it pays to work rather than stay on welfare, with a proper education policy, so we are training young people to be able to do the jobs that are becoming available. They are 3 sides of the same policy. So if we have proper immigration control, a proper skills and education policy, and welfare reform so that work pays, I believe we’ll see levels of migration fall, we’ll see net migration come back to the 10s of thousands, where it was in the 1980s, which also the benefit of immigration not being an issue in public life, which I would very much like that to be the case again.

Now, taking your specific points on business and skills and education, I would challenge the point that the government has done anything that would disadvantage those areas. Actually, because we have dealt with the bogus colleges that weren’t really there to provide training courses; they were there as a back door for immigration – because we’ve closed down those bogus colleges, we’ve actually been able to say a very clear thing to our universities and to students from overseas, which is: there’s no limit on the number of students who can come to the UK; you just need a university place and an English language course. So our universities can get out and market themselves around the world, as well as providing great education for our young people.

To business we said: of course we don’t want to disadvantage business by having an immigration policy that damages you. Yes, we’re going to put a cap in place on the number of economic migrants from outside the EU, because it doesn’t make sense to have that uncapped. But we’re going to make sure that things like inter-company transfers that we’re very flexible about. And so I haven’t actually had a stream of businesses coming to my door complaining about our immigration policy, and as soon as they hear it’s tied to reform of education and reform of welfare, they can see you’ve got a sensible, joined-up government, delivering the British people’s priorities.

And as I say, I think the public’s attitudes on immigration – they’re not about race; they’re not about culture. It’s purely about numbers and pressure and making sure we grip this properly, and that’s exactly what I’m committed to doing.

Question

I’m delighted to say that you’re going to get out of the way and you’re going to stand up for us and celebrate what we do. In standing up for us, can I ask you to put more pressure on making broadband the fourth utility?

Answer

Yes. Well, it is. I mean, you’re absolutely – ‘the fourth utility’ is a great phrase for it. If you are a business in rural Britain, a high‑speed broadband connection is as important as a good train service or a good rail service or a good road. It is going to be the way that businesses communicate and succeed for the future. I represent a largely rural constituency. Amongst small businesses, rural businesses it is the issue. It’s not one of many issues; it’s absolutely the issue.

Now, I think if we are fair to Broadband UK, British Telecom, the Departure for Culture, Media and Sport, the money’s going in, the deals are being signed. I think there are 10,000 businesses being signed up every week, but it is always difficult getting to that last 5, 10%. The money’s there to help us do that. We’re going to have to be very technically savvy. It’s good that we’ve hired the former head of British Telecom to come and be our Trade Minister because I can, every now and again, get a little bit of inside advice from him about how we get this to go faster. So we’re totally committed to it and we think we will have the best broadband network in Europe, but we’re going to have to be very creative for the last 5 or 10%.

Question

My own business is involved in business advice and employment law and I also chair the FSB’s Employment Policy Committee. The Chancellor’s comments on the National Minimum Wage evoked quite a bit of interest a few days ago and I wondered what your views are, particularly in terms of the concerns that relate to job creation or the problems that it will cause in particular sectors, like the care sector.

Answer

Well, you’ll be relieved to know my views are the same as the Chancellor’s. [Political content removed] I think the key is this: I think the National Minimum Wage has been a success. I think it’s been successful in part because of the role played by the Low Pay Commission, but I think it’s very important to listen to what they say about what is sustainable for the level of the minimum wage. The facts, though, are these: obviously, the minimum wage lost some of its value during the great recession when the Low Pay Commission didn’t advise putting it up or putting it up by very much and so we have seen an erosion in its value. Under this government it’s gone up by 10%, but if it had its value restored in full, we’d have a £7 minimum wage rather than a £6.30 minimum wage.

Now, as I said the other day on a television or radio interview, I can’t remember which, I’d love to be Prime Minister of a country that could afford a £7 minimum wage; I think it would be a great step forward. But we have to let the Low Pay Commission do their work and we should listen to them about we don’t want to do things that will destroy jobs. The job creation of the record of this government is something I’m very, very proud of: 1.3 million more people in work, record numbers in work.

So I hope it will be possible to start restoring the value of the minimum wage. I think we need to listen to the Low Pay Commission, but surely as the country becomes better off as our economy grows, we should be able to afford those increases. But it will be for the Low Pay Commission to advise the government and I think it would be good if, in our country, we don’t make the minimum wage a sort of political football and we try and listen to the Low Pay Commission and let them play the vital role of referee. That’s the key.

One last thing. Of course, as well as seeing the minimum wage go up 10% under this government, because we’ve cut income tax, because you can now earn £10,000 before paying income tax, that is equivalent of another 10% on the minimum wage. So we’ve been focused on how to help low earners and I think that’s the right focus to have.

Question

If you’ll forgive me, I’m going to remind you of the second of my colleague’s questions. She asked you whether you agreed with Boris Johnson, as a tax‑cutting Tory, that you wanted to cut the top rate of tax to 40p.

My question now, if I may, which is: you said this morning that immigration from Romania and Bulgaria was reasonable. How do you know and what you do mean by ‘reasonable’?

Answer

We’ve cut the top rate of tax from £0.50 to £0.45. I think it was the right step to take. I always knew it wouldn’t be particularly popular, but I thought it was the right thing to do, because I want to take steps in this country that are going to encourage investment, going to encourage jobs, going to encourage growth, going to encourage business to invest more [Political content removed]. It is an anti‑business, anti‑enterprise, anti‑growth measure and I would argue, just as what I think George Osborne and I did was right for the economy but politically difficult, [Political content removed]

As for future rates of tax, they are, as the saying goes, a matter for the Chancellor in his budget and I think I will rest with that. But it is important always to think about – taxes are about how you raise the money. You should think about the revenue. I want rich people to pay more taxes. The way to get rich people to pay more tax is to get the economy moving, to get them investing, to get them spending, to get them buying, to get them employing and, actually, we’re seeing the rich paying more in income tax in every year under this government than in any year under the last government.

Immigration, Romania and Bulgaria, the point I was making on the radio this morning is obviously 1st January has passed and that’s an important milestone. We extended the transitional controls from 5 years to 7 years; we’re not able to extend them further. There aren’t any official statistics. I haven’t been looking at unofficial statistics, but just from what I read and see and hear, as you have, I think that these numbers look, as I said this morning, reasonable.

Question

We’re an online marketplace for business loans and our technology means that businesses can typically get finance from our investors within 2 weeks, and you mentioned challenger banks. Obviously it’s great to hear that you’re advocating more competition within the sector, but it would also be good to hear what you think about alternative models within the wider landscape.

Answer

Yes. I’m very keen on these new models, a lot of which are using internet online technology, crowd sourcing in order to help people to fund their businesses. Obviously it’s been frustrating that the banks haven’t been lending more to small businesses. I think the big picture numbers now show a more helpful pattern in terms of gross lending, but I think these other ways of raising finance are incredibly encouraging.

And we should do our bit to help with that. That’s what the Business Bank is about that the government has set up and funded, that’s what the Start‑Up Loans are about and I think we should be as flexible as we can to try and find new ways of encouraging people to invest. That’s what all our enterprise relief schemes are about. The EIS scheme is about getting money into small businesses.

I keep asking investors, ‘Is there anything else we can do to make this work better?’ and people seem pretty happy with the way it’s working. But if people have got specific suggestions for how we help fund small business, how we help entrepreneurs, how we deal with the difficult stages afterwards – the so‑called ‘valley of death’ – Tim Luke and Daniel Korski from the Policy Unit are at the front; all ideas gratefully received.

Question

I own my own engineering company and I’d like to know do you have any plans to further assist manufacturing. I would say that manufacturing went into recession in 2006, before the bank crisis struck. Here we are 7 years later, nothing has been done about training in those years in the meantime, and the clothes you are wearing today were made on a machine, if someone’s not out there making those machines we’re going to have nothing. Manufacturing desperately needs help.

Answer

Right, okay. Well, look, the good news, sir, is that the last figures that we have for the British economy, manufacturing has been growing actually slightly faster than services and I think it’s welcome that we’re seeing a recovery in manufacturing, in construction as well as in our service industries. I think what we also need to see is that export growth and manufacturing obviously, as a very tradable sector, is always a vital part of that.

What can the government do for manufacturing? I think there are 3 or 4 things that are vital. There’s obviously the tax regime that affects lots of businesses, so low corporate tax rates. We’ve got the Patent Box, so if you invent anything here in Britain and manufacture it here in Britain you pay 10% corporation tax. I think the apprenticeship schemes that we’re backing, record funding going into apprenticeship schemes. I think that’s particularly important for manufacturing and those sorts of skilled jobs. I think the transport network – we talked about broadband is vital for a lot of rural businesses; if you’re a manufacturing business we need to upgrade our ports, we need to upgrade our railways and our roads, all of which is happening.

I think that the other piece of the jigsaw I’ve mentioned is these catapult centres that the business department is setting up, where we’re looking at specific industries, specific parts of manufacturing and thinking how can we help by, frankly, imitating the Germans and seeing where you can get the best out of our universities, the best out of our business brains, and put them together in catapult centres to try and literally catapult better technology into our manufacturing industries. So, for instance, the one that we’re doing with aerospace, which is funded with hundreds of millions of pounds, I think could be a real success in an area where Britain is still the number 2 in the world.

So I’m very much committed to a manufacturing based recovery, to supporting manufacturers, I think sills, technology, taxes and transport were the ones I’d put at the top of the list, but if you’ve got other ones, my experts here in the front row, and you can have a go at them after I’ve gone.

Question

I started out when I was 12, I was one of very few number. Obviously I think now we can all say that the age of the entrepreneur really has arrived, and of course the enterprise loans are actually sitting here with Mike and Ben Dyer who are the only young entrepreneur delivery partners for the enterprise loans who are actually giving me a loan at the moment.

So, I think we can certainly say that the age has arrived, the only thing that worries me slightly is – particularly within my industry of food and drink, high end retail – is that that the industry is so crowded, and retail has been so badly damaged through the recession, is that sustainable? Is it sustainable for 12,000 new businesses to be setting up when we go into a retail that 2 brands have to come out for us to go in?

That’s the first point, and then the second one is to do with export, so sort of following on from that. We’ve been exporting – I’ve worked with UKTI for a number of years; I was at the November 2010 event as a speaker. And what we see is an inconsistency on what’s actually being talked about in terms of the support of trade and export. Very quick example, we exported to Mexico, we were told and advised by UK Trade & Investment we’d need a dairy certification. Products arrived into port and were held by customs; we had to pay nearly £8,000 for a new certification because dairy isn’t required.

So I think there’s a little bit of an inconsistency there with what’s being sort of discussed and what’s actually being delivered. So I please ask you that you could talk to UK Trade & Investment to actually engage more with people who are on the forefront of export.

Answer

Okay. Well thank you very much and thank you for what you’ve done since the age of 12 to deliver this enterprise revolution. I mean, I really believe it is happening. When I see what’s happening with the start-up loans, with the enterprise allowance scheme, with the fact here are 400,000 more businesses today than there were 3 and a half years ago in our country, I think we are seeing real signs of an enterprise economy bursting through again.

On UKTI, I think the performance has improved a lot over recent years, but one of the reasons for hiring a great business brain, in Livingston, is to really put him to work on turning around this organisation even more, and making sure it’s looking after small businesses in particular. I think a lot of big businesses already have the expertise in terms of export and how to get on in overseas markets, but small businesses really need that help and support.

On your point on retail, I’m not sure I’ve got a really good answer to that. I mean, you know, we have a very competitive retail market. I mean, when Napoleon said we’re a nation of shopkeepers he meant it as an insult, I take it as a compliment, and I think we should want to have a competitive market where new people should break through. And that’s the business world we live in today. You know, you think about it, a few years ago a lot of these brands that have gone global or taking over the world didn’t even exist. You know, where was Skype 5 years ago? You know where were some of these businesses that have come from nowhere? So I think we should celebrate the fact that we have a lot of bursting‑through small businesses that are going to change their markets, because it’s that process of change that will create the jobs of the future.

Question

I’m afraid it’s a bit about the banks. It’s an ask for a little bit of help. We’ve been very lucky in 2 of my members, we’ve managed to get recompense from the banks for the mis-selling of swap rates. And these are microbusinesses, £120,000 worth of extra interest. They’ve now been given, eventually, their compensation package, which includes about a quarter of an inch of paper to go through. Inside there is a confidentiality clause; we can argue about that.

But the big problem being is that the answer in short terms is, ‘Yes we got it wrong. Here’s your money back. Here’s the compensation we think we’ll give you. And if you don’t like it, you can reapply to us, but be aware that you might not get back what we’ve offered you in the first place.’ And I think that’s completely wrong. If the compensation isn’t enough, the person should be able to go back without fear of losing the initial claim – or we need something to do about that. And just to add insult to injury, the following day, they got a telephone call from that bank saying, ‘We got it wrong before but can we re-do your loan for you?’

Answer

Right. But I think that – that’s a good one to end on sir. Look, I think our banking system is strengthening. I think our banking system is being sorted out. But it’s going to take more time. And I think the 2 key elements that you’re pointing to are, 1, we need more competition. Banks have got to feel the pressure of competition, from the fact that business owners can take their custom somewhere else. They’ve got to feel the pressure that account holders can switch their account to another bank. That is now happening, and I think these challenger banks that you can now see – the Metro Banks, the Handelsbanks, the fact that TSB is out there again – that competition, we need that to change the culture and the practice in banking.

The second area is regulation, and I think, frankly, we did inherit a bit of a mess in terms of regulation, and we’ve taken steps to sort that out by giving the Bank of England an absolutely clear role in terms of calling the time on excessive debt in our economy, which it didn’t do previously. But also having in the Financial Conduct Authority a tough and rigorous regulator on banking practice.

And so this is not going to be easily fixed. I would just beware the sort of quack remedies that I think we’re being offered by the opposition, who come up with something that looks flashy for about a day, and then you realise hasn’t worked elsewhere in the world and is not right. I think under this government you can see the competition is hotting up. The new banks are arriving. There’s more work to be done as we nurse RBS back to health. And let’s let these new regulators get on with their job, and they may be able to look at cases like your – the one you mention, and make sure that we police these organisations better.

Can I thank you very much indeed. I’m afraid I’m told that’s all I’ve got time for. Can I thank you very much for inviting me. Sorry it’s taken 40 years to get a prime minister along, but, as I said, we’ll try and speed up the next – the next arrival – of this prime minister, let me just be clear about that, in case there are any doubts about that one. But thank you very much for the warm welcome. Thank you for the suggestions.

This is about not just a speech and a Q&A; it’s about a process of engagement. We desperately want small business, enterprise and entrepreneurship to succeed in our country. There’s some stuff we need to get out the way: the tax and regulation. There’s some big stuff we need to stand up for on small business. And there’s a bit more celebrating we need to do of successful enterprise and entrepreneurship, and people who create wealth and jobs in our economy. It is a vital piece of work. It’s an incredibly noble thing to do when people start out on their own. And when they create those businesses that become great employers of the future, it is a genuine public service, and we can’t say that often enough.

Thank you very much indeed.

Below is the text of the speech made by David Cameron, the Prime Minister, at the World Economic Forum at Davos on 24th January 2014.

The key challenge for politicians and business leaders in Europe is how we make a success of globalisation.

For years the West has been written off.

People say that we are facing some sort of inevitable decline.

They say we can’t make anything anymore.

Whether it’s the shift from manufacturing to services, or the transfer from manual jobs to machines, the end point is the same dystopian vision; the East wins while the West loses; and the workers lose while the machines win.

I don’t believe it has to be this way.

Of course, we cannot be starry eyed about globalisation – it presents huge challenges as our economies and societies try to adapt.

But neither should we take this pessimistic view.

If we engage in the right way, if we get the fundamentals of our economies right, sort out our debts, maximise our competitiveness and build on our strengths, then globalisation offers our businesses the chance to win new contracts to export into markets that were previously closed and create jobs fulfilling the demands of new consumers thousands of miles away.

Indeed if we make the right decisions, we may also see more of what has been a small but discernible trend where some jobs that were once offshored are coming back from East to West.

And it is this that I want to talk about today.

All of this is about the same purpose.

Securing sustainable, well-paid jobs.

Giving people pride in using their skills.

Offering workers a chance to make world-beating products.

Bringing more of the benefits of globalisation home and ensuring those benefits are felt by hard-working people in terms of security, stability and peace of mind.

Let me start with what we are doing in Britain.

We have set out a long-term economic plan to secure our country’s economic future.

It has 5 parts.

First, getting the fundamentals right – cutting the deficit so we deal with our debts, safeguarding our economy for the long-term and keeping mortgage rates low.

Second, reducing taxes to help hard-working people become more financially secure.

Third, capping welfare and reducing immigration so our economy delivers for people who want to work hard and play by the rules.

Fourth, delivering the best schools and skills for young people so the next generation can be best placed to win the jobs of the future.

And fifth, driving job creation by backing small business and enterprise with better infrastructure and lower jobs taxes.

Each part of this plan is already producing results.

The deficit we inherited was the biggest in our post war history – but already it’s down by a third.

Our economy is growing.

Just this week, the IMF upgraded its growth forecasts for Britain by more than any other G7 country and we have also seen the largest quarterly increase in employment since records began.

There are now more than 1.6 million new private sector jobs since early 2010 – and around 400,000 more small businesses. We’ve cut taxes for over 25 million people, reformed welfare so that it pays to work and created more apprenticeships than at any time in our history.

And we’ve taken unprecedented steps to back enterprise; scrapping £1.2 billion of red tape – including pushing for the removal of the most problematic EU regulations and investing billions in our infrastructure – in roads, rail and what is set to become the best superfast broadband network in Europe.

Ernst and Young now say Britain is the best place in Europe for new entrepreneurs.

This has not come automatically; it is because we have chosen to build our long-term economic plan on Britain’s great strengths. We have chosen to play to our strengths as an open, trading economy, championing the vital EU trade deals with America, Canada and Asia that can add millions of jobs to our economies and billions of pounds to the value of our businesses.

Rather than trying to pull up the drawbridge and shut ourselves off from globalisation, we have chosen to embrace foreign investment.

We are proud of the Indian investment in Jaguar Land Rover, proud that Emirates invested in a new stadium for Arsenal and Etihad have invested in Manchester City.

And we are proud that in the first half of last year the UK became the world’s largest recipient of inward foreign direct investment.

We have made choices. Difficult choices.

In a time of austerity we have chosen to maintain our spending on science and innovation.

And we have chosen to cut business taxes.

Corporation tax will soon be as low as 20%, the lowest in the G7 and as low as 10% for companies that turn innovation into manufacturing.

This is the country that is so committed to cutting burdens on business, that no government Minister – not even me as Prime Minister – can propose a new regulation that affects business without getting rid of 2 others in return.

This is Britain. Open, pioneering, creative, innovative – and ready for your investment.

Britain also has the chance to become something else.

Let me explain.

In recent years there has been a practice of offshoring where companies move production facilities to low cost countries. We’ve all seen it. We all know it’s true. And it will continue.

But there is now an opportunity for the reverse: there is now an opportunity for some of those jobs to come back.

A recent survey of small and medium sized businesses found that more than 1 in 10 has brought back to Britain some production in the past year. More than double the proportion sending production in the opposite direction.

From food processing to fashion, from cars to computer-makers. It’s not just one sector; it’s across all sectors of the economy.

The food manufacturer Symingtons is moving its factory from China to Leeds.

Hornby the model train manufacturer is bringing some of its manufacturing from India to Britain.

Raspberry Pi computers have shipped production to Wales.

A company I visited yesterday morning – Vent-Axia – has shipped jobs from China to Crawley.

Jaeger, the fashion brand, stopped manufacturing in the UK 15 years ago but is now bringing as much as 10 per cent back to Britain. Take cars. Britain now exports more cars than it imports and based on this success, the automotive industry has indicated it could yet return £3 billion of supply contracts.

But we are not just seeing these trends and opportunities in Britain.

A survey of major US-based manufacturing companies found that more than a third were planning or actively considering shifting production facilities from China to America.

While one recent forecast suggests millions of jobs could be available for re-shoring globally.

To win these jobs we need to understand what is driving these changes.

Part of the story is about rising costs in the emerging markets, a natural consequence of these economies developing and their people becoming wealthier.

Senior pay in China now matches or exceeds pay in America and Europe while rising oil prices and complex supply chains are increasing transport costs too.

At the same time, there are a number of factors pulling companies back home.

Some companies are choosing to locate production nearer to their consumer markets in the West.

By shortening their supply chains, they can develop new products and react more quickly to changing consumer demand. More customisation. More personalization. Better and faster customer service.

For example, you’re inspired by a new trend on the London catwalk and want to make a new product available in days not weeks. A shorter supply chain will help.

So will new technologies like 3-D printing – where you can personalise a design and print in hours rather than choose from a more limited range of pre-designed goods and ship in weeks.

There is no doubt that when it comes to re-shoring in the US, one of the most important factors has been the development of shale gas, which is flooring US energy prices with billions of dollars of energy cost savings predicted over the next decade.

Taken together, I believe these trends have the ability to be a fresh driver of growth in Europe too.

I want Britain to seize these opportunities.

I think there is a chance for Britain to become the “Re-Shore Nation”.

For years we have had UKTI out there helping our businesses to export and encouraging inward investment.

Now I want to give that same dedicated specific support to helping businesses re-shore.

So we are setting up a one stop shop to help businesses capitalise on the opportunities of re-shoring.

Much as Britain can be the “Re-shore nation”, so Europe can benefit from this too.

But only if we act now to make re-shoring as attractive as possible.

As much as there is an opportunity, we have to be careful not to misrepresent it.

So, let me be clear on 3 things I’m not saying.

First, I’m not saying there is a finite number of jobs in the world and that our success depends on some kind of tug of war to win them back at the expense of the East.

That completely misunderstands the nature of what is going on; and how economies work.

Growth and dynamism means that new jobs are continually being created and re-created.

So our gain is not their loss: rather their gain is our gain.

Second, I’m not saying that re-shoring is going to bring back all the jobs that were off-shored in the first place.

We have to keep the scale of this development in proportion.

So far most of the firms involved are mainly bringing back production destined for markets in the West.

Some companies will continue to off-shore more than they bring back and much of what these firms have moved overseas will remain there, if not in China then in other low-cost Asian economies like Indonesia and Vietnam.

Third, I am not saying that our economic success depends on winning some kind of race to the bottom nor should we be engaged in one.

Getting decent, well-paid jobs at every level is what we are aiming for.

And I believe that’s what we can get…and that re-shoring can help.

When mobile network company EE recently decided to move 300 call centre jobs from the Philippines to Northern Ireland, they didn’t do it because wages were lower. They did it because productivity was higher and because the company decided it would be more successful by having a more local call centre for its customers.

And as they make this move, they aren’t just creating jobs for telephone operators.

They are creating jobs for managers, lawyers and technicians too.

So what I am saying is this.

Right now, economies in Europe have a unique opportunity to accelerate this new trend of jobs coming back home.

And we should be confident that we can do this.

As we do so, we should never forget one of our most important strengths.

We should never undersell the core values of our liberal democracy; the rule of law, the freedom of speech and freedom of the media, property rights and accountable institutions, all vital foundations for long-term stability and commercial success.

But for re-shoring to happen we need to build on those foundations.

That means settling once and for all 2 key arguments that risk undermining our competitiveness.

First, on the overall business environment.

And second, on the need for cheap and predictable sources of energy.

Let me briefly take each of these in turn.

All of us here in Davos know what it is that businesses need if they are to choose to locate in Europe. Macroeconomic stability.

European economies with their debts and deficits under control.

Strong finance – like that provided by the City of London.

Consistent support for free trade – especially the vital trade deal with the US.

And above all, we need an unashamedly pro-business regulatory environment – with labour market flexibility, low jobs taxes and a willingness to pave the way for new business and new business models.

These are the issues our Business Task Force highlighted in their recent report – a report 7 European leaders supported late last year in Brussels.

We are making progress in the battle for an enterprise-friendly Europe.

The Eurozone crisis has focused governments on the need for structural reform.

The accession to the EU of countries that experienced state socialism and the progress of sensible pro-enterprise governments.

All these things have helped.

But the fight is not yet won.

There are still people who think that the key to success is ever greater social protections and more regulations.

Some in the European Commission seem to think that if they’re not producing new regulations they’re somehow not doing their job.

And that removing existing regulations is somehow an act of self-harm.

While many in the European Parliament are tempted to gold plate every piece of legislation.

Let’s be clear.

We don’t protect workers by piling on the regulations and directives to such an extent that they become unemployable.

We have to maintain the flexibility for companies to grow and expand.

Incredibly complex and overwritten directives that take this flexibility away, that make life difficult for temporary workers, or that stop firms moving people between plants just mean that companies who want to re-shore will re-shore somewhere else.

By contrast, where countries are embracing reform, new jobs are flowing.

In the UK, BT moved 1,200 jobs back because of flexibility from the unions.

Last year Nissan said it will invest 130 million Euros in its Barcelona plant – mainly because Spanish unions agreed to recast working conditions and allow more flexible arrangements.

Ford, Renault and Volkswagen are similarly keen to take advantage of greater flexibility in Europe, especially southern Europe. It would be madness to stand in their way.

The same is true of energy.

To relocate in Europe, businesses will be encouraged by cheap and predictable sources of energy.

Yes, we need renewables – these are a vital part of our future.

That’s why Britain had made itself one of the best places for green investment anywhere in the world, with the world’s first dedicated green investment bank and the largest offshore wind market in the world.

We need nuclear as part of that energy mix too.

And I’m delighted that in Britain last year we agreed the first new nuclear build for a generation with £16 billion of investment and 25,000 new jobs.

That will ensure safety of energy supplies.

But we also need to explore the opportunity represented by shale gas.

Now I understand the concerns some people have.

We need the right regulations – such as ensuring that well casings are set at the right depths with tight seals.

And governments need to reassure people that nothing would go ahead if there were environmental dangers.

But if this is done properly, shale gas can actually have lower emissions than imported gas.

This week’s announcements from the European Union represent important progress but there is still a way to go in really embracing this opportunity.

We should be clear that if the European Union or its member states impose burdensome, unjustified or premature regulatory burdens on shale gas exploration in Europe investors will quickly head elsewhere.

Oil and gas will still be plentifully produced, but Europe will be dry.

Just look at what shale gas has done for America – for American firms and American jobs.

It has reduced industrial gas prices in America to about one quarter of those in Europe and it’s set to create a million more manufacturing jobs as firms build new factories.

A recent study suggests that US GDP is going to be to on average close to half a trillion dollars higher every year between 2008 and 2035 because of shale.

The Confederation of British Industry and Business Europe are coming together to launch a “Blueprint for Industrial Competitiveness”.

Their message is clear.

Act now to seize the opportunities of re-shoring.

Deal with our debts. Roll back the unnecessary regulation. And embrace the opportunities of shale gas.

Business is making the case.

Please don’t hold back in telling Europe’s governments what we need to do.

European countries face a choice.

If we act now we can ensure our businesses, our peoples and our societies can benefit from the next phases of globalisation.

The security, stability and peace of mind that those we serve yearn for can only be delivered by facing the difficult choices. We must not fail them.