:00:10. > :00:16.More borrowing, fading his own targets, lower growth and a bleak
:00:17. > :00:24.long-term picture, as well, it was the day when the Chancellor's luck
:00:25. > :00:29.ran out. Productivity growth across the West is too low and the outlook
:00:30. > :00:33.for the global colony is weak and it makes for a dangerous cocktail of
:00:34. > :00:39.risks but one that Britain is well prepared to handle. George Osborne
:00:40. > :00:44.tried to put a positive gloss on this and we will ask whether the
:00:45. > :00:51.latest plans are feasible with the help of the Business Secretary, the
:00:52. > :00:57.Treasury Secretary from the Shadow Cabinet, and a guest from the
:00:58. > :01:00.Financial Times. His mum should have told him
:01:01. > :01:04.to clean his teeth every day. They could have been
:01:05. > :01:06.as nice and clean as mine. I think it's illiberal,
:01:07. > :01:12.regressive, patronising, But most importantly it will hit
:01:13. > :01:17.consumers in their pockets. Remember last year,
:01:18. > :01:32.the Autumn Statement. The forecasts were rosy,
:01:33. > :01:42.he had ?27 billion more to play with this parliament
:01:43. > :01:44.than he'd thought. The growth forecasts are down,
:01:45. > :01:49.significantly, the ?27 billion has been taken away - and another
:01:50. > :01:51.?28 billion as well. So this was a testing budget
:01:52. > :01:54.for George Osborne - one of the ones, where the economic
:01:55. > :01:58.newsflow has been against him. And it comes at an awkward
:01:59. > :02:13.time, what with a Brexit You might ask, what words would USA
:02:14. > :02:22.shape with George Osborne? I will start with one beginning with F,
:02:23. > :02:32.failure -- what words you would associate with George Osborne. The
:02:33. > :02:35.luck has run out. This was the old graft, borrowing coming down through
:02:36. > :02:43.the parliament, year by year, and this is the picture now, higher
:02:44. > :02:48.borrowing through the next few years, but he is still showing a
:02:49. > :02:52.surplus at the end of Parliament. He has used a convex device to help
:02:53. > :02:57.deliver that, and he has also failed to hit his own target of getting the
:02:58. > :03:02.stock down and he has failed to cap well fed spending like he said he
:03:03. > :03:05.would. -- complex device. He did not draw attention to these failures in
:03:06. > :03:10.his beach. -- speech. Eight years ago Britain
:03:11. > :03:13.was the worst prepared of any of the major economies
:03:14. > :03:15.for the crisis we then faced. Today Britain is amongst the best
:03:16. > :03:18.prepared for whatever challenges may lie ahead and that is what our
:03:19. > :03:28.long-term economic plan has Up to a point. I will keep the F
:03:29. > :03:32.word going for a moment. The other failing was productivity. That is
:03:33. > :03:39.what we each produce for each hour, here at work, the more the better,
:03:40. > :03:44.but the obvious for budget responsibility has hoping for a
:03:45. > :03:49.surgeons in British productivity but it gave up the ghost and accepted we
:03:50. > :03:51.may not improve as much as we had hoped -- the Office for Budget
:03:52. > :03:57.Responsibility had hoped for a resurgence. There is a second word
:03:58. > :04:04.you could use about the Chancellor, S, slasher, he has piled new cuts
:04:05. > :04:09.onto old cuts already announced for late in this Parliament, even though
:04:10. > :04:12.he called them efficiency savings. By the end of the Parliament, the
:04:13. > :04:16.proportion of the economy spent by government is set to be where it was
:04:17. > :04:18.in the era of this man. I think that the great
:04:19. > :04:20.thing about the budget was that we resisted the temptation
:04:21. > :04:24.to give away too much money. It is always a temptation to relieve
:04:25. > :04:35.tax, in fact rather more, We are heading to a reshaped state,
:04:36. > :04:39.simmering proportions to where it was in the 1950s, but this time with
:04:40. > :04:44.more older people taking pensions and health care -- similar in
:04:45. > :04:49.proportions. The Chancellor is a more interesting person than those
:04:50. > :04:55.words alone Empoli, and I can give you some more positive ones -- those
:04:56. > :05:01.words alone imply. They tax reformer, he is pushing changes,
:05:02. > :05:09.overlapping and duplicating changes, but a new ISA looks like it could
:05:10. > :05:11.have a radical effect on the pensions industry.
:05:12. > :05:13.Young people can put money in, get a government bonus,
:05:14. > :05:17.and use it either to buy their first home or save for their retirement.
:05:18. > :05:22.And then, of course, George Osborne the reform of local government, he
:05:23. > :05:27.is announced mayors taking over certain regions and there was more
:05:28. > :05:31.of that today. There will be a new mayor of East Anglia. I'm sure there
:05:32. > :05:37.is a joke to be made, but I can't think of one. Piece by piece it is a
:05:38. > :05:42.new layer of government. A final word, for now at least, George
:05:43. > :05:47.Osborne the pragmatist, he has listened when it comes to business,
:05:48. > :05:53.the Google tax misstep, this time he has put taxes up on big business and
:05:54. > :05:57.cut them for smaller firms. And that the party piece, the sugar tax, not
:05:58. > :06:00.altogether to the taste of many Tory MPs, who feel a bit like this about
:06:01. > :06:02.it. Homer, when are you going to give up
:06:03. > :06:05.this crazy sugar scheme? I can't live the buttoned-down
:06:06. > :06:09.life like you. The terrifying lows,
:06:10. > :06:11.the dizzying highs, But it is a gesture to Jamie Oliver,
:06:12. > :06:17.and it must be said, a convenient headline distraction
:06:18. > :06:20.to all the less sweet news So all in all, a complex package
:06:21. > :06:25.today, not a great hand to play. And a little trickery deployed
:06:26. > :06:29.to help get through it all. But of all the words that apply
:06:30. > :06:32.to the Chancellor, the word "politician" is a key one:
:06:33. > :06:34.so for the way he handled the political challenge,
:06:35. > :06:49.here's David Grossman. Those bottles of sugary
:06:50. > :06:50.drink the Chancellor would like to discourage need
:06:51. > :06:52.to be handled carefully. Exactly like the Conservative Party
:06:53. > :06:56.right now, all fizzed up The Chancellor had two big
:06:57. > :06:59.political jobs today, the first was to attempt
:07:00. > :07:01.to distract from some starkly The second was to try and hold
:07:02. > :07:13.together his divided party. Many on his side of the chamber
:07:14. > :07:17.are very angry with both him and the Prime Minister,
:07:18. > :07:19.who they accuse of not playing fair The Chancellor turned to the EU
:07:20. > :07:28.referendum early in his speech, The House knows my view,
:07:29. > :07:32.Britain will be stronger, safer and better off
:07:33. > :07:34.inside a reformed European Union. And I believe we should not put
:07:35. > :07:37.at risk all the hard work the British people have done
:07:38. > :07:42.to make our economy strong again. But even this was too much for some
:07:43. > :07:46.on the Conservative benches, who reacted as if a door had been
:07:47. > :07:50.left open, and a sudden icy wind He is the Chancellor,
:07:51. > :07:55.he was at the dispatch box, I was a little disappointed he felt
:07:56. > :08:00.the need to have a partisan dig We felt in the chamber momentarily
:08:01. > :08:05.a sense of real disappointment because the Prime Minister asked
:08:06. > :08:08.us to pick our side, to fight the campaign
:08:09. > :08:10.we believe is the right one, and that is what we are all
:08:11. > :08:13.doing, so I felt it was But to be honest, the budget
:08:14. > :08:18.was a strong and robust one, and we can get over
:08:19. > :08:19.that and move on. The Chancellor was keen
:08:20. > :08:21.to move on, as well. The early mention of the EU out
:08:22. > :08:24.of the way, he hurried towards happier Conservative
:08:25. > :08:26.territory, capital gains tax cut from 28% to 20%, the higher rate tax
:08:27. > :08:30.band raised to ?45,000 from 2017, the tax-free allowance
:08:31. > :08:32.raised by ?500 to ?11,500. He ended on a much more positive
:08:33. > :08:44.tone for the Conservative Party cuts to personal taxation
:08:45. > :08:46.and the cuts to capital gains tax. This was not really
:08:47. > :08:49.a budget about Europe. It was a budget which was dealing
:08:50. > :08:58.with the figures he was dealt by the OBR which were the worst
:08:59. > :09:01.economic growth numbers. It was providing enough surprises
:09:02. > :09:04.and good news to make everyone For Jeremy Corbyn this
:09:05. > :09:08.was an important day too for him His outfit as he left home may not
:09:09. > :09:15.have reassured MPs sceptical But by the time he reached
:09:16. > :09:20.the Commons chamber his attire was as sharp as his criticism
:09:21. > :09:26.of the Government. This budget, Mr Deputy Speaker,
:09:27. > :09:28.has unfairness at its very core. Paid for by those who
:09:29. > :09:31.can least afford it. He could not have made
:09:32. > :09:37.his priorities clearer. Half a million people
:09:38. > :09:41.with disabilities are losing over ?1 billion in personal
:09:42. > :09:45.independence payments, corporation tax is being cut
:09:46. > :09:48.and billions handed out in tax cuts Some on the Conservative side I have
:09:49. > :09:58.spoken to are deeply worried that this charge -
:09:59. > :10:00.tax cuts for the rich, paid for by benefits
:10:01. > :10:02.cuts on the vulnerable Campaigning is, after all,
:10:03. > :10:05.under way in elections for London Mayor, the Northern
:10:06. > :10:08.Ireland and Welsh Assemblies, English councils and
:10:09. > :10:11.the Scottish parliament. There was some good things,
:10:12. > :10:15.things to be welcomed Tax changes in oil were good,
:10:16. > :10:21.on whisky and fuel was good. But the big picture on that
:10:22. > :10:23.budget was appalling. He confirmed and brushed away
:10:24. > :10:25.complete failure on every big target To just give one example,
:10:26. > :10:31.the ?20 billion or so borrowing he promised this year,
:10:32. > :10:35.he now won't hit for four years. What an unmitigated
:10:36. > :10:37.failure of the so-called No doubt the froth of tomorrow's
:10:38. > :10:43.headlines will all be about the sugar levy,
:10:44. > :10:45.but more challenging details lurk Often with budgets the sparkle of
:10:46. > :10:57.the day turns rather flat overnight. We have more on the sugar levy very
:10:58. > :10:59.soon. Here with me now -
:11:00. > :11:04.Robert Chote, the chairman of the Office of Budget Responsibility,
:11:05. > :11:06.Sajid Javid, the Business Secretary, and Seema Malhotra, the shadow
:11:07. > :11:15.Chief Secretary to the Treasury. I will start with Robert Chote, if I
:11:16. > :11:21.may come at the figures were quite a lot worse, and yet in the 2019, 2020
:11:22. > :11:28.years, you have the same surplus, moral less, predicted as before, is
:11:29. > :11:36.that an easy way to explain that? -- more or less. There is a weaker
:11:37. > :11:39.outlook for economic growth and a weaker outlook for revenues, tax
:11:40. > :11:47.that is the main driver there, in terms of how the hole has been
:11:48. > :11:50.filled in, partly by announcing they will be less expenditure on public
:11:51. > :11:55.service is in that year, and that will be partly funded by an
:11:56. > :11:59.efficiency review which will be reported in 2018, and there are also
:12:00. > :12:06.things which move money between years of the forecast. ?6 billion
:12:07. > :12:09.tax on corporate profits which has been moved into that year and there
:12:10. > :12:13.are capital investment spending which has been moved out. That does
:12:14. > :12:20.not affect the underlying health of the public finances. 2019 is the
:12:21. > :12:24.thing they have set their credibility against, having a
:12:25. > :12:31.surplus in that year. Many people looking at it, they say, hang on,
:12:32. > :12:36.they have read timed it, they have shoved ?6 billion into that year
:12:37. > :12:39.which accounts for half or more of the suppers they have achieved, but
:12:40. > :12:46.you cannot use the words smoke and mirrors? -- surplus. How this has
:12:47. > :12:51.been achieved is for other people to apply those adjectives. Mirrors and
:12:52. > :12:56.smoke, perhaps. Productivity is a big story, it has turned out
:12:57. > :13:02.disappointing. To be clear, the growth forecast has come down more,
:13:03. > :13:06.pessimism on growth, is still growing all the way through, but
:13:07. > :13:12.what was driving that? The productivity? Or something to do
:13:13. > :13:16.with China and the world economy? Mostly the productivity of
:13:17. > :13:21.assumptions, the striking feature in the UK and many other economies, the
:13:22. > :13:24.productivity, the amount of output out of every hour worked, has been
:13:25. > :13:28.growing much less quickly after the financial crisis than it did
:13:29. > :13:32.beforehand. We were shooting we would get back to the precrisis rate
:13:33. > :13:38.of growth relatively swiftly -- we were assuming. Figures have shown
:13:39. > :13:41.productivity growth picking up nicely in the middle of last year
:13:42. > :13:44.along with earnings, but that has fizzled away in the fourth quarter
:13:45. > :13:48.and that has left you with a period of weak postgraduate collectivity
:13:49. > :13:53.growth getting longer and we have placed more weight on that as a
:13:54. > :13:57.guide to the medium-term. Although this is not a revision driven by
:13:58. > :14:02.news on the outside world, it is not something which is unique to the UK.
:14:03. > :14:05.If you look at the revisions which have been made in the United States,
:14:06. > :14:09.they are almost exactly the same. But we are starting from a lower
:14:10. > :14:17.base because we have a lower productivity rate. The Chancellor
:14:18. > :14:21.was quoting you with abandon regarding Brexit and the
:14:22. > :14:24.consequences if we leave the EU. Looking at the document, it was not
:14:25. > :14:29.clear if you had done any work on this, what is your position on
:14:30. > :14:34.Brexit? Parliament has told us to be deuce hour forecast on the basis of
:14:35. > :14:38.current government policy, and that is to stay in the EU, and our
:14:39. > :14:42.forecasts are done on that basis and we have not done any projections of
:14:43. > :14:48.what difference it would make if we left. He was quoting you as though
:14:49. > :14:51.we had -- as though you had. If you look at the things that City
:14:52. > :14:56.economists and others are saying, if there was to be a vote to leave
:14:57. > :14:59.people would expect a period of uncertainty while the new
:15:00. > :15:04.relationship with the EU is negotiated and that could have
:15:05. > :15:06.implications for consumers and confidence on financial markets and
:15:07. > :15:11.so we cited what other people have been saying. But you had done no
:15:12. > :15:18.work on that? No. You are not experts on that particular topic?
:15:19. > :15:20.No. What was the reason for shifting ?6 billion of corporation tax
:15:21. > :15:27.revenues into the year that you have to hit a surplus target?
:15:28. > :15:31.That goes back to the previous budget where the Chancellor
:15:32. > :15:33.announced he wanted to change the timing of corporation tax receipts
:15:34. > :15:37.to make sure they come in earlier. A number of companies as part of the
:15:38. > :15:41.consultation process became back and said we don't want this but can you
:15:42. > :15:43.give us more time and this is a consequence of the Chancellor
:15:44. > :15:46.agreeing to give more time. Of course that's going to have a
:15:47. > :15:50.shifting impact and that has a net result on the numbers. You would be
:15:51. > :15:53.happy for to us see the papers on this change and to release all the
:15:54. > :15:58.e-mail that is have been exchanged and why you are doing it? I think
:15:59. > :16:01.actually the... It is a bit convenient, isn't it, to get six
:16:02. > :16:05.billion in the last year. All the information is already out there, if
:16:06. > :16:09.you look at the announcement in the previous budget, the stops from a
:16:10. > :16:13.lot of the companies. But the overall result of this budget, from
:16:14. > :16:16.what we have seen today, of course, there was a change in the growth
:16:17. > :16:21.forecasts, we just heard from yourself and Robert, some of that
:16:22. > :16:26.was to do with productivity changes. Some was to do with changes in the
:16:27. > :16:32.global economy. We are one of the most open economies in the world.
:16:33. > :16:37.When the... Robert was just told us it's less to do with the global
:16:38. > :16:41.growth than it is to do with the productivity. It's to do with both.
:16:42. > :16:44.Let's look at the productivity issues. That is also very important
:16:45. > :16:49.and I am glad you are highlighting it because we as a country have had
:16:50. > :16:51.a long-running productivity problem over successive governments.
:16:52. > :16:55.Something that's just been confirmed. When there is a change in
:16:56. > :17:00.productivity, of course it can have an impact but we have also seen the
:17:01. > :17:01.last year, as Robert mentioned, the congressional budget office
:17:02. > :17:05.downgraded their productivity by more than we did. They are starting
:17:06. > :17:12.from 20% ahead of us. Absolutely they are. It is interesting. You
:17:13. > :17:14.have been in power, you haven't been best Secretary, so it's not been you
:17:15. > :17:18.that whole period. What do you think we should conclude about
:17:19. > :17:23.productivity? You have been in power for six years, Conservative-led
:17:24. > :17:26.Government. Should we basically think actually productivity is
:17:27. > :17:32.something governments can't really change? No, I think that would be
:17:33. > :17:34.wrong. Productivity is one of our number one priorities this
:17:35. > :17:38.parliament. But let's just go back. The question is we have been in
:17:39. > :17:43.power, obviously with the coalition Government to begin with, but since
:17:44. > :17:46.2010. Our priority back in 2010 was frankly economic rescue. We had just
:17:47. > :17:51.gone through the biggest recession in almost 100 years. We had the
:17:52. > :17:55.biggest budget deficit of any G20 economy. We had the biggest bank
:17:56. > :17:59.bail out so economic rescue was the priority. It wasn't productivity, it
:18:00. > :18:03.was economic rescue, we had to get the economy growing again. We had
:18:04. > :18:05.numbers today that confirmed we have more people employed than ever
:18:06. > :18:08.before. We have done well on employment. The priority of this
:18:09. > :18:13.Government is product yft and that's why in the first few weeks of this
:18:14. > :18:16.new Government, along with the Treasury, I published a productivity
:18:17. > :18:21.plan, very detailed. You are welcome to read it. You probably already
:18:22. > :18:24.looked at it and action we can take. Have you modelled the effect it is
:18:25. > :18:28.going to have on productivity? These are long-term changes. There is no
:18:29. > :18:32.silver bullet. Things like investing in skills, in infrastructure, more
:18:33. > :18:37.competitive markets, exports, that's part of the plan. What I have
:18:38. > :18:40.modelled is that if we could match as a country US productivity
:18:41. > :18:44.levels... We would be 20% richer. We could stop going to work on Friday.
:18:45. > :18:46.?25,000 for every household and that's the only way we are going to
:18:47. > :18:51.raise living standards and that's why we take it seriously. Just to be
:18:52. > :18:56.clear, you do think you can affect productivity? Over the long-term.
:18:57. > :18:59.There is no overnight solution. 2019 we can come back to you and say...
:19:00. > :19:02.It will take a number of years. I am glad this Government is the first to
:19:03. > :19:06.deal with it. Let's look at some things that you have said you will
:19:07. > :19:10.do and you have not. The overall debt level was first I think going
:19:11. > :19:17.to fall as a percentage of GDP 2014. It didn't. Then 2015. Now it's 2016.
:19:18. > :19:24.What should we make of the fact that you failed that more than once? Who
:19:25. > :19:28.has been fired for failing to meet the fiscal mandate on that important
:19:29. > :19:33.story? First of all, let's respect that we actually now for once have
:19:34. > :19:35.an independent body, the OBR, it's a good opportunity to give credit to
:19:36. > :19:39.Robert and his team for the work they do. They have transformed the
:19:40. > :19:43.way that we look at these fiscal events because now we can rely on
:19:44. > :19:46.these numbers and they take into account a lot of external factors.
:19:47. > :19:49.There used to be a time when Chancellors... Robert didn't set the
:19:50. > :19:54.target. You set the target. Absolutely. Robert merely told us
:19:55. > :19:59.that you failed to meet the target. Leave him out of it! I am asking who
:20:00. > :20:02.is losing their job because you failed to meet your target, and you
:20:03. > :20:06.went into the election saying trust us, we are credible and know what we
:20:07. > :20:10.are doing. When there is a change in forecasts, even the smallest change
:20:11. > :20:13.in GDP can have a big knock-on impact in numbers. Our central
:20:14. > :20:17.mission that the Chancellor set out back in his first budget of this new
:20:18. > :20:20.parliament was that we are going to make sure this country starts living
:20:21. > :20:24.within its mean again. He said there will be a surplus by the end of this
:20:25. > :20:28.parliament and that's still what is forecast. The welfare cap, because
:20:29. > :20:31.you introduced it in 2014. You said at the time, under Labour our
:20:32. > :20:37.welfare bill has got out of control. That is why we are introducing the
:20:38. > :20:43.welfare cap. You failed to meet - to hit the welfare cap. Well, again, a
:20:44. > :20:48.small change in forecasts can have an impact. We knew there were going
:20:49. > :20:51.to be changes, that's why people said don't introduce a silly welfare
:20:52. > :20:54.cap at the time. People were saying at the time, a welfare cap, you are
:20:55. > :20:58.going to be like 2% off and you are going to miss your welfare cap. And
:20:59. > :21:01.you have. Are you saying we shouldn't judge you on your failure
:21:02. > :21:05.to meet the welfare cap? No, I am saying you judge us on the
:21:06. > :21:09.discipline that we provide to try to bring the public finances under
:21:10. > :21:12.control. What we have seen since... This is an important point. Are you
:21:13. > :21:15.saying we shouldn't judge you on failure to meet the welfare cap? We
:21:16. > :21:19.should be judged on our central mission which is to make sure this
:21:20. > :21:24.country lives within its means. Put aside the welfare cap and not judge
:21:25. > :21:28.that one on its own? You put a lot - you invested a lot of reputation and
:21:29. > :21:31.a lot of people at the time said it was simply put there to make life
:21:32. > :21:36.difficult for the Labour Party, it was a partisan thing. You put a lot
:21:37. > :21:40.into it and you appear now to be saying judge us on the whole
:21:41. > :21:43.picture, not that? It's actually put there to install discipline for
:21:44. > :21:47.whatever... It hasn't worked, up haven't met it. Let's judge it on
:21:48. > :21:51.the basis that we have got this cap. If the cap is breached. It has been
:21:52. > :21:54.breached. The welfare Secretary will come in front of parliament and
:21:55. > :21:57.explain what happened. Is Iain Duncan Smith going to do that? Is he
:21:58. > :22:01.going to lose his job and apologise, is he going to be taken to court for
:22:02. > :22:05.breaking the law and not meeting the welfare cap? What it will make sure
:22:06. > :22:10.happens is that the discipline that we have put in place works. Now the
:22:11. > :22:13.Government of the day, which ever, this isn't put in for the Labour
:22:14. > :22:18.Party or the Conservative Party. It hasn't worked. What consequences is
:22:19. > :22:21.there for you failing to meet it and if it doesn't have consequence in
:22:22. > :22:25.what way is it imposing discipline? When the Government now looks at
:22:26. > :22:29.this and as we have set out is that we have to make sure that welfare is
:22:30. > :22:33.controlled and spending and we continue to cut it and we have the
:22:34. > :22:36.proper measures in place to make sure that we can meet the overall
:22:37. > :22:40.budget targets. That's interesting. A lot of people will say it is
:22:41. > :22:43.because you have not delivered the welfare reform that you wanted that
:22:44. > :22:47.this week you have had to go out and take more than a billion away from
:22:48. > :22:51.people on personal independence payments to try and get welfare
:22:52. > :22:56.under the cap. Still hasn't worked incidentally but to keep welfare
:22:57. > :23:00.down, in effect, you are asking people with disabilities to be
:23:01. > :23:03.poorer because you have failed to deliver the welfare reforms that you
:23:04. > :23:08.said you were going to. That's not the case. That is wrong on many
:23:09. > :23:11.accounts. First of all, the welfare reform that we put in place is
:23:12. > :23:15.delivering results, for the first time we have a system in place that
:23:16. > :23:18.makes sure that people who are out of work that choose work will always
:23:19. > :23:23.be better off. That was not the case before. If you look at the reports
:23:24. > :23:29.on uniform credit it has made a sea change to people's attitude to
:23:30. > :23:34.taking up work. Then also on personal independence payments, they
:23:35. > :23:37.and the predecessor, the DLA, they're up three billion in real
:23:38. > :23:41.terms since 2010. The number of people getting those payments is
:23:42. > :23:46.higher. A lot of people are saying that's a failure of the welfare
:23:47. > :23:51.reform. No - look, please let me respond. It's actually a recognition
:23:52. > :23:54.that you have a welfare system that looks after the most vulnerable in
:23:55. > :23:57.society. Of course I put disabled people at the top of the list.
:23:58. > :24:00.That's why spending has increased, even during the life of this
:24:01. > :24:04.parliament it's projected it's going to rise by another billion. I don't
:24:05. > :24:07.accept for a second that we have cut spending on disabilities payments. I
:24:08. > :24:10.will play one clip and give you a chance to answer.
:24:11. > :24:12.Graeme Ellis is a lifelong Conservative voter who today quit
:24:13. > :24:14.the Conservative Disability Group and took the group's website
:24:15. > :24:17.We reached him earlier over the internet -
:24:18. > :24:21.The first story I came across on the BBC news website
:24:22. > :24:24.was about the proposed changes to PIP and proposing to take 200,000
:24:25. > :24:31.people out of the benefit and lowering the eligibility of others.
:24:32. > :24:35.Then I went on to read the story about the raising of the threshold
:24:36. > :24:39.for higher rate earners and immediately it just hit me
:24:40. > :24:44.that it was a case of robbing the vulnerable to pay the rich.
:24:45. > :24:52.They're saying they need to make savings and yet they can make tax
:24:53. > :24:55.cuts and I am sure people in this country would rather see people
:24:56. > :25:08.looked after, rather than see huge tax cuts.
:25:09. > :25:15.What's your answer to Graeme? I would say please don't believe all
:25:16. > :25:19.the misinformation that's out there. I would not be part of a Government
:25:20. > :25:22.that cuts benefits for disabled people. You have taken a billion,
:25:23. > :25:27.you are making ?1 billion of savings. We have increased benefits
:25:28. > :25:30.for people that are disabled by three billion over the last
:25:31. > :25:33.parliament and they're rising by a further billion projected during
:25:34. > :25:39.this parliament. That's an increase. We need to hold it there. Thank you
:25:40. > :25:45.very much indeed. Listening to that and the budget
:25:46. > :25:48.today, Seema, your Shadow Chancellor said it was morally reprehensible to
:25:49. > :25:53.cut benefits for people with disabilities, is that your view? I
:25:54. > :25:58.think people will be staggered to hear what Sajid has just said. Four
:25:59. > :26:01.billion taken out in terms of support for people with
:26:02. > :26:06.disabilities. It's over lots of years. We normally do it per year.
:26:07. > :26:12.In the final year, as well, that is set to be 31% of the net savings in
:26:13. > :26:18.that final year, coming on the backs of those with disabilities. Do you
:26:19. > :26:21.feel it's morally reprehensible? That's a phrase John used and one
:26:22. > :26:26.people will understand. Do you use it? I would say it is close to that,
:26:27. > :26:29.because what you are saying, what you are saying is that you will do
:26:30. > :26:33.almost like a reverse Robin Hood, this is taking from people who use
:26:34. > :26:37.those payments to be able to make improvements in their home, to get
:26:38. > :26:41.to work. It's going to be a cost to the state in other ways to take this
:26:42. > :26:44.away. This is a budget that was built on the back of George
:26:45. > :26:49.Osborne's failures and has failed to invest for the future. Let's ask
:26:50. > :26:52.what you would do. You have a borrowing target, it's not nearly as
:26:53. > :26:56.ambitious as the Conservative borrowing target. Meeting the cost
:26:57. > :27:00.of day-to-day spending, not all spending. We are not doing that at
:27:01. > :27:03.the moment. Just give me in a couple of sentences what you would do if
:27:04. > :27:07.you were giving your budget today. You are absolutely right, what we
:27:08. > :27:10.would be looking for would be fair taxation, so tackling tax avoidance,
:27:11. > :27:13.there are some measures brought in today and we will look at the
:27:14. > :27:17.detail. We would also be saying that you need to invest for growth. This
:27:18. > :27:21.was an attempt... Before we get to the growth bit. Give us the
:27:22. > :27:25.difficult decisions, not the easy ones. I think this is an important
:27:26. > :27:29.point. This is saying you want to invest in new technologies. This
:27:30. > :27:31.sounds like more borrowing, not less. Some might need to be
:27:32. > :27:35.borrowing for the future. That's what we have said. You would need to
:27:36. > :27:39.invest for the future. You need to invest so that you can see the
:27:40. > :27:41.growth in productivity, whether that's through developing skills,
:27:42. > :27:46.through developing infrastructure. But also we would say you would want
:27:47. > :27:50.to tackle waste. Just one example, Evan... You say waste. We have been
:27:51. > :27:53.through the most horrific change in the public sector. Everything has
:27:54. > :27:58.been trimmed and you are still saying you can go out there and find
:27:59. > :28:03.waste. Housing benefit, it's forecast to be ?350 million more
:28:04. > :28:08.than George Osborne suggested last summer. The reason is the Government
:28:09. > :28:12.has failed to invest in housing. We know from recent data as well that
:28:13. > :28:15.there are over 200,000 fewer households owning their own home
:28:16. > :28:19.than when George Osborne became Chancellor. Just to be clear, your
:28:20. > :28:23.budget today would have had more spending, maybe some cuts in
:28:24. > :28:27.avoidance of tax and some increases through avoidance. But there is no
:28:28. > :28:30.difficult decision that you would have made basically, nothing that
:28:31. > :28:36.would have been taking something from somebody? I wonder whether that
:28:37. > :28:39.is exactly what people fear about the Labour Party, is that they see
:28:40. > :28:43.what's morally reprehensible but have no tough decisions they want to
:28:44. > :28:46.take themselves. I don't think that's fair. What we are saying here
:28:47. > :28:49.is if you want to balance the books you can do that through two ways.
:28:50. > :28:53.One is cutting spending. You can do that through waste, as well. The
:28:54. > :28:56.other is making sure that you have ways increasing tax receipts. What
:28:57. > :29:02.we have said is that you need to be investing for growth. We have seen a
:29:03. > :29:06.Government now, if you look at the failures on exports, failures on
:29:07. > :29:09.wage growth, also set to fall. These are ways in which you are seeing
:29:10. > :29:13.people paying the price of the failures to run the economy well.
:29:14. > :29:15.There is a huge debate about whether those measures work or they achieve
:29:16. > :29:20.what you want. We won't get into that now. Let me ask this, the
:29:21. > :29:25.Conservative Government is aiming to take us back to a relatively small
:29:26. > :29:30.state. 37% or thereabouts of national income. Give us a clue,
:29:31. > :29:34.roughly, what sort of size have you in mind for the state? We will lay
:29:35. > :29:40.out our plans as nearer the time obviously to the next election. You
:29:41. > :29:46.don't know, roughly? Within 5% of national income? We will say... 40%?
:29:47. > :29:49.This is a Government... You are getting back to them. I am asking
:29:50. > :29:53.about you. Local Government decimated, this is a budget that's
:29:54. > :29:57.done nothing for the health service and the health deficit that we are
:29:58. > :30:01.seeing. So, in terms of saying what do people care about, what do people
:30:02. > :30:04.want? This is a long non-answer to my question! People want public
:30:05. > :30:07.services and they want a state that's on their side. A state that
:30:08. > :30:10.works in partnership with industry for growth. There are different
:30:11. > :30:13.roles of this state. We believe is the state should be there to provide
:30:14. > :30:17.public services and support for individuals but also be there to
:30:18. > :30:18.generate growth. We look forward to more precision being put to that
:30:19. > :30:24.answer. Thank you all. Well, the biggest surprise
:30:25. > :30:26.was the sugar tax. It wasn't long ago we'd been told
:30:27. > :30:31.it was off the agenda, then out of the packet it was there
:30:32. > :30:34.in the Chancellor's budget. How, you might have wondered,
:30:35. > :30:46.does that bloke on the telly manage to fill even my
:30:47. > :30:49.widescreen TV so fully? It's because of my
:30:50. > :30:51.rather unhealthy diet. One that the Chancellor today,
:30:52. > :30:53.and the budget, said I'm not prepared to look
:30:54. > :31:06.back at my time in this Parliament doing this job and say
:31:07. > :31:08.to my childrens' generation, I'm sorry, we knew there
:31:09. > :31:10.was a problem with sugary drinks and we knew it caused disease
:31:11. > :31:13.but we ducked the difficult So today I can announce
:31:14. > :31:17.that we will introduce a new sugar The new ?500 million levy
:31:18. > :31:21.was a bit of a surprise, and this is the share price
:31:22. > :31:24.of drinks maker Britvic You can see clearly
:31:25. > :31:29.when the announcement was made. And here is Jamie Oliver,
:31:30. > :31:32.who has been campaigning for this I'm over the moon and now I expect
:31:33. > :31:39.a lot from the obesity strategy Now, public health officials hope
:31:40. > :31:49.that this measure will have a double whammy effect when it
:31:50. > :31:52.comes to children. First of all, the money raised
:31:53. > :31:56.will be spent on school sports. Secondly, a quarter of the sugar
:31:57. > :32:02.that children take in comes from sugary drinks and they hope
:32:03. > :32:05.this tax will diminish that number. We do have a problem
:32:06. > :32:09.with childhood obesity. Around one third of 11-year-old
:32:10. > :32:11.children are either They are on track
:32:12. > :32:15.to health problems. And remember, children in the very
:32:16. > :32:23.poorest neighbourhoods are twice as likely to be obese
:32:24. > :32:26.as children from the richest. Unfortunately obesity
:32:27. > :32:27.is the new smoking. It is one in five kids
:32:28. > :32:29.overweight across the country. It is obesity which causes may be
:32:30. > :32:33.one in five cancers and is costing us all ?5 billion a year
:32:34. > :32:37.in NHS treatment. We do need to take action and doing
:32:38. > :32:40.something about the extra fizzy, sugary drinks which our children
:32:41. > :32:43.are consuming is a very good British food companies have
:32:44. > :32:49.already cut a lot of sugar from their products in recent years
:32:50. > :32:52.and they have got two more years to cut more if they want
:32:53. > :32:55.to avoid the new levy. This Tory MP who used to work
:32:56. > :32:59.in the drinks industry is wary. I've had a long-standing
:33:00. > :33:01.objection to any kind of sugary drink tax,
:33:02. > :33:08.largely because I think it is illiberal, regressive,
:33:09. > :33:10.patronising, it is Nanny statism at its worst, but most importantly
:33:11. > :33:13.it will hit consumers It would not surprise you that this
:33:14. > :33:16.fluorescent orange drink has enough These five drinks over here have
:33:17. > :33:26.just as much of it is these ones, They are not putting any sugar
:33:27. > :33:40.taxes on these yogurts, even though they have higher sugar
:33:41. > :33:43.content than all of these drinks. In fact, this cheese
:33:44. > :33:45.sandwich, if I was to sell this as a drink,
:33:46. > :33:51.would have a high enough sugar But because I'm selling it as a
:33:52. > :33:53.sandwich, it doesn't. I'm sceptical that this will work on evidence from
:33:54. > :33:57.other countries that have tried similar taxes sure it doesn't work,
:33:58. > :34:01.and people switch from one sugary product to another, and what it
:34:02. > :34:07.doesn't do is change behaviour to low-calorie products. This sugar
:34:08. > :34:10.levy is a idea that the government ruled out a month ago but it seems
:34:11. > :34:18.the drinks companies were just too easy a target. Look at this. 23
:34:19. > :34:23.sachets of sugar in that single container. Furthermore, it is a good
:34:24. > :34:26.distraction from the gruesome fiscal news, perhaps that is the most
:34:27. > :34:28.important reason why we ended up with the big new public health
:34:29. > :34:32.policy. In a moment, we'll pick over the day
:34:33. > :34:36.with our eminent panel here. If this was a pre-election budget
:34:37. > :34:42.we'd be going to a marginal seat The next electoral test is
:34:43. > :34:49.the referendum on whether to leave So let's hear from the kinds
:34:50. > :34:56.of voters the Government will want to keep sweet
:34:57. > :34:59.if they are to keep Britain Katie Razzall went to Wiltshire
:35:00. > :35:03.to see how the budget is going down The Wiltshire Ramblers have
:35:04. > :35:12.had this Wednesday walk The small matter of a budget
:35:13. > :35:23.wasn't going to stop them. Nine miles of beautiful
:35:24. > :35:30.countryside lay ahead. And the turnout
:35:31. > :35:32.suggested for these folk the Chancellor's pronouncements
:35:33. > :35:37.aren't a must-watch. This county went entirely blue
:35:38. > :35:39.at the last election. With the referendum in the offing,
:35:40. > :35:44.George Osborne wants to keep the good people in Wiltshire
:35:45. > :35:47.who supported the Conservatives At Hartham Park near Corsham
:35:48. > :35:54.a business show for local companies. The Chancellor claimed his budget
:35:55. > :35:57.is a rocket boost for enterprise, for the likes of the hundred
:35:58. > :36:07.or so businesses offering They are running right at me. A
:36:08. > :36:12.clown with a chair. Andrew Hawkins runs a local shopping centre. --
:36:13. > :36:18.Andrew Hall. You are going to be selling these? I would love them. It
:36:19. > :36:24.is interesting business rates are being reviewed, this is biggest cost
:36:25. > :36:29.to our business, business rates and VAT, and that being addressed will
:36:30. > :36:36.have a real large impact on retail, and for that alone I would put a
:36:37. > :36:39.very large plus. Anita runs a local business magazine and she raged
:36:40. > :36:42.George Osborne as a Chancellor but does not buy his warnings that
:36:43. > :36:47.leaving the European Union will advertise the affect the economy.
:36:48. > :36:52.There will be a few bumps along the way, but we have got enough of an
:36:53. > :36:57.economy and workforce out there that work very hard and they will keep
:36:58. > :37:01.pushing and I think we would never be really out on a limb. The
:37:02. > :37:07.economic benefits seem straightforward. If we are out of
:37:08. > :37:12.the EU, I've no doubt it would make it very difficult for businesses to
:37:13. > :37:17.export or import. Is it time to head for the hills? Surely our Ramblers
:37:18. > :37:22.do not want be left ignorant of today's big financial news. They
:37:23. > :37:33.were in luck thanks to modern technology, we could bring George to
:37:34. > :37:42.them. It keeps Britain on the move. No rise to fuel duty. We are pleased
:37:43. > :37:52.about that. That is a good one. Fewer Judy, but what are raising tax
:37:53. > :37:55.allowances? -- fuel duty good. If we did not pay ?53 million every day to
:37:56. > :38:01.Europe, that would go a long way to paying for it or he made a little
:38:02. > :38:06.dig, he said the forecast for the economy, although scare back, not as
:38:07. > :38:11.bad as it would be if we left Europe. I disagree with that. If
:38:12. > :38:16.they had a vote that lunchtime today, I would vote to come out at
:38:17. > :38:24.tea-time tonight. Others back George Osborne on the deficit. We need to
:38:25. > :38:26.get our expenditure down, and cuts are never palatable, especially when
:38:27. > :38:32.they affect you, but he's sticking to his guns. He is right to keep
:38:33. > :38:36.cutting? He is right, otherwise he will get a few years down the line
:38:37. > :38:39.and face a general election and the opposition will slaughter him
:38:40. > :38:45.because he has not achieved what he set out to do. But in a pub in
:38:46. > :38:51.caution we met a husband and wife who are not quite as combination
:38:52. > :38:54.three. Alan is a conservative councillor and Gladys was chairman
:38:55. > :38:59.of the local branch until she left in dismay at what her National party
:39:00. > :39:05.was doing. After working very hard for 78 years and thinking we have a
:39:06. > :39:12.Conservative government and therefore a Conservative Chancellor,
:39:13. > :39:18.and therefore a conservative budget, I find I have a socialist
:39:19. > :39:25.Chancellor. Conservative is for smaller government. Each individual
:39:26. > :39:29.is responsible for their destiny. Why do we have to encourage people
:39:30. > :39:36.to save? Why have we got a sugar tax? People should not be eating
:39:37. > :39:39.sugar. Conservatism is about freedom of choice, not about the government
:39:40. > :39:43.telling you what you should and shouldn't do, it is about the
:39:44. > :39:50.government in enabling you to do what is right and what you can do.
:39:51. > :39:58.The sugar tax? I'm against any of those kind of legislations,
:39:59. > :40:03.interference, it is micromanagement. What is the path ahead? Even in
:40:04. > :40:07.conservative Wiltshire there are so many opposing views, and the party
:40:08. > :40:15.supporters here are sure to be divided again come June. We can now
:40:16. > :40:16.take stock of the budget. Joining me now are Lionel Barber,
:40:17. > :40:21.the editor of the Financial Times. Jayne-Anne Gadhia,
:40:22. > :40:23.CEO of Virgin Money. Fraser Nelson, editor of
:40:24. > :40:26.The Spectator and Mariana Mazzucato, economics Professor
:40:27. > :40:38.at the University of Sussex. In a few days we can say what the
:40:39. > :40:43.budget really achieved or didn't. What will we be talking about? We
:40:44. > :40:49.will be talking about the big picture internationally which is
:40:50. > :40:53.marked by pervasive uncertainty. Uncertainty about growth in China,
:40:54. > :40:57.the slowdown and the impact on emerging markets which have driven
:40:58. > :41:03.world growth over the last decade. We will talking about Donald Trump
:41:04. > :41:09.for the nomination. A great protectionist. Several countries in
:41:10. > :41:12.Europe without governments and finally we will talk about Brexit
:41:13. > :41:19.and the threat, that is the backdrop. In terms of the individual
:41:20. > :41:24.measures and the numbers, I guarantee you you will not be able
:41:25. > :41:27.to remember the numbers. They had changed in a period of three months
:41:28. > :41:35.and George Osborne has got himself in a terrible tangle, trying to meet
:41:36. > :41:39.his goal of the surplus given that the forecasts a change, and lastly
:41:40. > :41:45.we will remember the sugar tax, even though that is two years away. And
:41:46. > :41:51.cuts in capital gains tax and relief finally for small businesses, who
:41:52. > :41:58.they need to vote against Brexit in the referendum. That is the Brexit
:41:59. > :42:02.backdrop. What do you think we will remember about the budget? I hope
:42:03. > :42:06.that we remember we live in a thriving economy, that has been
:42:07. > :42:09.missed, we have high employment and the budget is about driving
:42:10. > :42:15.employment. We have wage growth, another that has slowed slightly, we
:42:16. > :42:17.have taxation benefits which mean people have more disposable income
:42:18. > :42:21.and the fact that oil prices have come down has given consumers
:42:22. > :42:26.greater confidence and that has encouraged everyone. The fact the
:42:27. > :42:30.Chancellor has helped the oil industry, that is a good thing, and
:42:31. > :42:33.therefore we have a good, strong economy for the future and this
:42:34. > :42:39.budget is built on that and we should look at this positively. You
:42:40. > :42:45.are on a business Council for the Chancellor, correct? I am in the
:42:46. > :42:51.Prime Minister's business advisory group. In a broad business sense,
:42:52. > :42:55.there was a bit of a hit on bigger businesses, he learned his lesson
:42:56. > :43:00.from Google, seemingly. You are not complaining about that? The tax
:43:01. > :43:05.position in terms of managing corporation tax is a wise thing to
:43:06. > :43:09.do, 1% reduction in corporation tax will mean that people, businesses,
:43:10. > :43:12.bring more of their profits into the UK and that will pay for itself very
:43:13. > :43:20.easily in that way and encourage investment into the UK and that is
:43:21. > :43:23.very important. Mariana, you are an adviser to John McDonnell, you are
:43:24. > :43:30.one of the panel of seven, aren't you? What did you make of this
:43:31. > :43:33.budget? It will be remembered for our short-term and superficial it
:43:34. > :43:39.was, because it did not tackle the sources of the problem. It had token
:43:40. > :43:46.measures. In terms of productivity, how to solve that problem, that is
:43:47. > :43:49.about increasing public and private investment, and private investment
:43:50. > :43:53.is falling in this country, that will not increase through tax cuts.
:43:54. > :43:57.Tax cuts in the short term are simply making profits increase,
:43:58. > :44:01.profits continue to be at record highs, and if we want to be like the
:44:02. > :44:09.United States which Sajid Javid was saying, we should increase corporate
:44:10. > :44:12.income tax, to 39%, but that... There is no evidence that cutting
:44:13. > :44:19.capital gains tax or corporate income taxes going to increase
:44:20. > :44:25.business index. Is that correct? Boosting investment clearly helpful
:44:26. > :44:33.on the productivity side? Tax is very important. In enabling small
:44:34. > :44:36.businesses to invest in their own development is really important and
:44:37. > :44:39.I think small businesses in this country deserve further investment
:44:40. > :44:45.and support from the Chancellor and I think they got back today. I
:44:46. > :44:49.encourage that. Small businesses internationally, from the ones in
:44:50. > :44:52.Israel to the United States, in China, you want them to grow, you
:44:53. > :44:56.don't want them to remain small, and what small businesses need is
:44:57. > :45:00.patient, long-term committed finance, but what did we do with the
:45:01. > :45:05.few attempts in this country to get the kind of finance? We privatised
:45:06. > :45:08.the business bank and the green investment bank, but those are the
:45:09. > :45:14.concrete tours which will increase investment and innovation in this
:45:15. > :45:18.country. We are turning this, the business department into an
:45:19. > :45:20.enterprise zone. No regulation, low tax, we want to be like Ireland,
:45:21. > :45:28.fine. Fraser, what struck you about this
:45:29. > :45:33.budget? A lot of different Chancelloring on show. Thatcher and
:45:34. > :45:37.Hezza and a little bit of Gordon Brown in there. There is a lot in
:45:38. > :45:41.it. There is. He had a political objective here and that was to annoy
:45:42. > :45:47.as few Conservatives as he can before the referendum. He can not
:45:48. > :45:51.afford another omnishambles budget. You thought he was weeding out
:45:52. > :45:55.anything seen to cause a political provsh for him down the road. He
:45:56. > :45:59.choose the sugar tax, predominantly a tax on the poor which is a
:46:00. > :46:04.regressive measure but one the Labour Party welcomed and the Lib
:46:05. > :46:07.Dems, a sure sign it's a bad idea. By and large enough to keep Tories
:46:08. > :46:12.happy, a small cut in corporation tax, an increase in the threshold.
:46:13. > :46:16.So, it smooths the way for the EU vote which is all he is really
:46:17. > :46:19.thinking about right now. Can I just ask you all about this devolution
:46:20. > :46:23.package. No one ever seems to talk about this. Step by step we are
:46:24. > :46:28.getting a big reshaping of the country, aren't we? Mayors and
:46:29. > :46:35.regional governments and joining up authorities and it's the Chancellor
:46:36. > :46:38.leading it. I don't know why? I look forward to the new Wessex regional
:46:39. > :46:44.authority. They're going back to the old region. There is a serious point
:46:45. > :46:50.here. Certainly the Financial Times have argued for a long time this
:46:51. > :46:54.country is too centralised, too much built around Whitehall and if you
:46:55. > :47:00.are seeing the kind of devolution that we have seen the last couple of
:47:01. > :47:04.years in Scotland, then you need to have some compensating factors in
:47:05. > :47:09.England. But, of course, there is a sting in the tail here. The
:47:10. > :47:15.Chancellor talked eloquently as ever about the devolution revolution and
:47:16. > :47:20.yet here is a Government that's actually really nationalising our
:47:21. > :47:23.education policy, even to the point of dictating that everybody should
:47:24. > :47:28.study maths until they're 18 years old. I gather late tonight that may
:47:29. > :47:34.be now receding into the distance. Right. We heard one of those
:47:35. > :47:37.constituents in Wiltshire talking about it being a socialist
:47:38. > :47:47.Chancellor. Yeah, you can completely see why. Can you really? Is it
:47:48. > :47:52.really? Look at the ideas he has taken from Ed Balls, the ?9 minimum
:47:53. > :47:57.wage. The bashing of the big banks that never stops. Look at the
:47:58. > :48:04.budgets today, he tells you all the good causes he is giving bank fines
:48:05. > :48:08.to, these evil banks, let's give it to nice people. He is going to help
:48:09. > :48:12.small business, good. Again he is using a lot of language and it does
:48:13. > :48:15.make Conservatives wonder why he bothered winning a majority if he is
:48:16. > :48:19.going to implement all these Labour ideas. Ask yourself what in this
:48:20. > :48:23.budget couldn't really have been delivered by a Labour Chancellor?
:48:24. > :48:29.There isn't that much. Sorry, that's completely wrong. It's called the
:48:30. > :48:34.centre ground. This is an incredibly regressive budget. The income tax
:48:35. > :48:38.cuts are also benefitting snoochlt the poor to the rich through
:48:39. > :48:41.different measures How are you guys doing? What do you think is there an
:48:42. > :48:48.alternative at the moment? Absolutely. Is Labour delivering...
:48:49. > :48:55.The numbers are very worrying in terms of families we have the
:48:56. > :48:58.projection of something like 164% of household debt to disposable income,
:48:59. > :49:03.this is bringing us back to the levels of indebtedness we had just
:49:04. > :49:09.before the crisis. How is the Labour Party, in your view, you are advisor
:49:10. > :49:14.to them, doing in terms of framing a good alternative, credible
:49:15. > :49:18.alternative I think this emphasis on the strategic state which I am happy
:49:19. > :49:22.if you want, that's to be carried through systemically, it shouldn't
:49:23. > :49:26.just be used as a token measure. Having an agenda which is focussed
:49:27. > :49:30.on investment-led growth as opposed to consumption-led growth which
:49:31. > :49:34.continues to be the situation here. Therefore, debt to income levels
:49:35. > :49:39.rising. It's keeping us going the last five years. We need
:49:40. > :49:42.investment-led growth. We need a coherent plan and that also means
:49:43. > :49:46.strengthening those public institution that is will actually
:49:47. > :49:48.allow us, like the US, to have that kind of growth. We have to leave it
:49:49. > :49:53.there. Thank you all very much. One more thing we learned today,
:49:54. > :49:55.among the million jobs the Chancellor says he will create
:49:56. > :49:58.this parliament is a new role There'll be a Mayor
:49:59. > :50:02.of the West of England too. But what will the holders of these
:50:03. > :50:05.grand titles actually be Happily, the Mayor of Trumpton
:50:06. > :50:08.provided a detailed job description Fire Brigade, library,
:50:09. > :50:23.road repairs, postage stamps, rubbish bins, swimming baths,
:50:24. > :50:24.broken window panes, parked gates, waterworks,
:50:25. > :50:26.painting all the street lamps, dust carts, youth club,
:50:27. > :50:37.Church bazaar, drains.