Philip Hammond and David Davis Election 2017

Good morning and thank you for coming this morning. From the UK's

economy has been built brought back from the brink. It was borrowing a

pound of every ?4 spent, we had a deficit as a percentage of GDP of

10%, higher than in Spain, higher than Portugal. We were in the danger

zone. Through these strong and stable leadership of a Conservative

government and thanks to the hard work and determination of the

British people, our economic fortunes today are greatly improved.

The deficit has been cut by almost three quarters, to a level not seen

since before Labour's great recession. Last year the UK economy

grew at one of the fastest rates of any major advanced nation, faster

than the United States, Canada, France, Italy and Japan. And today

the number of people benefiting from the security and dignity of the job

-- a job is up by 2.8 million since Labour were in power. Employment is

now at a higher rate than we have seen in Britain since the 1970s.

Everyone in our country can be proud of the progress that we have made

together, and everyone in our country benefits from it. But no one

should be in any doubt that economic risk and uncertainty remains. All

the progress we've made over the last seven years could easily be

lost if we take a wrong turn now. The stakes could not be higher.

While the deficit has been reduced, it still remains too high. Although

we are in a much stronger position than we were in 2010, we are still

dealing with the consequences of Labour's recession. We have a

national debt of over ?1.7 trillion, almost ?64,000 for every household

in Britain. Each year we are spending ?50 billion on debt

interest, more than we spend on defence and policing combined. Money

which could be going to public services or reductions in personal

taxation is instead being spent on servicing Labour's debt. The only

reliable way to get debt falling and to keep our country on track to a

have done, reducing the deficit so have done, reducing the deficit so

that we live within our means. Jeremy Corbyn has made clear that he

takes a different view. He says we should not be afraid of debt or

borrowing. That is exactly the attitude that got Britain into such

extreme economic difficulty in the first place. It is why, at this

election, the economic credibility of the political parties should be

put to the test. We will set out our tax and spending

plans in our manifesto. The Prime Minister has made it clear that she

will make no commitment on spending and taxation that she is not sure

she can deliver. That is the she can deliver. That is the

yardstick of responsibility by which all parties should be judged, and by

that yardstick it is clear that Jeremy Corbyn has failed the test.

As the document we are publishing this morning shows, his economic

policies are a recipe for chaos, instability, uncertainty and

insecurity. Britain simply cannot take the risk of Jeremy Corbyn in

Downing Street, unleashing economic chaos on the country. Just when we

need strong and stable leadership for our economy and our country over

the crucial next five years, as we negotiate our exit from the EU and

chart a new course in the years beyond, Jeremy Corbyn offers a

chaotic and high risk gamble that would lead to higher taxes, more

borrowing and more debt. It's a gamble for which we would all pay a

price, and that choice must be uppermost in people's minds when

they cast their votes on the 8th of June. Now I will hand over to David,

to set out some of the specific to set out some of the specific

spending pledges, underfunded pledges Labour have made.

Since he became leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn and his team and

shadow ministers have made some very clear spending commitments to

voters. They are pursuing a series of populist measures, together with

their to face up to all the decision difficult decision to get the

deficit under control and get our economy back to health mean they

have built up a huge scorecard of spending commitments. As usual with

Labour, every taxpayer in this country would have to pay the price.

Time and again Mr Corbyn has asked us to judge him on substance and

policy. So that's exactly what we've done in this analysis today. Putting

it together, we'd have been in the same position as voters, who have

heard what Mr Corbyn and his colleagues have said and can only

take them at their face value. We had to believe their statements are

a true representation of what a Labour government would do. By

taking Mr Corbyn at his word and analysing his commitment in good

faith, we've assembled the best and clearest picture of what a Jeremy

Corbyn government would look like. We've taken only clear and

unambiguous spending commitments made publicly by Mr Corbyn and his

senior colleagues. senior colleagues.

This has been a challenge. It's not always clear what is a genuine

Labour Party policy and what is just another idea floated on the day.

Anyone who listened to Diane Abbott's talking on police numbers

as they will understand what I mean. We have erred on the side of

caution. Policies have only been included in this analysis if a voter

would hear a statement and reasonably believe that it was a

pledge by Jeremy Corbyn or a member of the Shadow Cabinet to reverse a

saving, spend money or raise revenue. Even this relatively

cautious analysis reveals a huge black hole at the heart of Jeremy

Corbyn's spending plans, amounting to 45 billion at the very minimum.

The cost of Corbyn's chaos will be borne by ordinary working families

across the country. They will feel in their tax bills, see it in the

jobs lost, feel it in the public services they lose out as the

economy crashes and economic confidence drains away. And as we

face up to this crucial time for a country, as we negotiate our

departure from the European Union and make our own world in the world,

the uncertainty created by Jeremy Corbyn's policies would be

disastrous. The analysis we publish today demonstrates two things.

First, by pledging populist policies for everyone and ducking the

difficult decisions, Jeremy Corbyn has shown he is unable to provide

the leadership Britain needs at this critical moment for our country.

Second, the cost of Corbyn's chaos would be too high a price to pay for

Britain. In this election we note a bow for any on other than Theresa

May is a vote for Jeremy Corbyn's chaos. That will put Britain's

economic security at risk and put our security at doubt. It's too big

a risk and too high a price. It's not in the best interest of

taxpayers and certainly not in the interests of Britain. I thank you.

We will take a few questions before we finish. Can we start with Laura

Kuenssberg. Chancellor and Secretary of State,

isn't it really rather rich for you to be criticising Labour's tax plans

this morning when your party is yet to spell out its plan for tax and is

yet to rule out tax rises, unless you wish to do that right here this

morning? Secondly, can I ask both of you, how much is the Government

prepared to pay as we leave the European Union? Can I ask you both

not simply to hide behind the fact there will be negotiations. In this

election, don't voters deserve to know how much of their tax payers

cash may be asked to stand tall up? Is it close to zero or 100 billion?

Let me start by answering that fuss. The public want one thing. They want

a good outcome from this negotiation, the best possible

outcome to the negotiation. They don't want us to talk about it, they

want the best outcome. We will be undertaking this negotiation in the

negotiation room with Mr Barnier, President Juncker and the 27. We

will negotiate a free trade agreement, the sorting out of the

European citizens rights and British citizens rights abroad and we will

certainly also be seeking to solve all the other issues relating to

justice and home affairs. We do that in the negotiating room, not by

negotiating with a megaphone. Chancellor. On your first question,

conservatives are a low tax party, it's in our DNA. Look at our track

record, we've taken 4 million low-paid people out of income tax

since 2010, reduced income tax for another 31 million, so that the

typical basic rate taxpayer is paying ?1000 less than they would

have been in 2010. We will set out our tax and spending plans in our

manifesto, as the Prime Minister has made clear. What we're doing this

morning is analysing commitments that Labour has publicly made.

Libby? From ITV News. Just following up on

the question of the amount of money the EU might be demanding. You're

talking about a Labour bombshell, but this is a bombshell from the EU,

suggesting you clearly have no idea what the British taxpayers are going

to end up paying and it could be much higher than you originally

thought. No, that's not the case. We are in

the pre-negotiation phase of what will be a very complex and very

tough two year negotiation, or up to two years. If you followed my

comments in the Commons and elsewhere you will have seen about a

dozen times I have said, there will be tough times in this exercise and

when we come under pressure, this is one of those times. That is

unsurprising. The numbers being bandied around in the press, 50, 60,

100 billion, we do not recognise, we have had no indication of it. What

we have said throughout is we will meet our international obligations

and enter into the negotiation in the best interests of both us and

the European Union. That is what we will do. Let me add

to that, what this episode shows is just how tough this negotiation is

going to be. The question people have two are themselves when they go

into the polling booth on the 8th of June is, who do they want conducting

these negotiations for Britain? Theresa May Jeremy Corbyn? Who is

most likely to get the deal that's right for Britain? ? Theresa May...

Come on, you've had your question. You were in the room on Wednesday.

Why did Jean-Claude Juncker leave dinner thinking Theresa May was

delusional? And to the Chancellor, we've heard about this bombshell

from the EU. David Davis says don't recognise 50 billion, 100 billion,

is that a red line you absolutely rule out paying?

Let me first say about the dinner. We don't comment about meetings,

never have and never will and there will be many more private meetings

between now and the end of two years. The morning after both

Downing Street and the commission said it had been a constructive

meeting. Of course there will be differences of view. Many of those

that will come in a couple of years. Don't be surprised, but we will

resolve them. On the number, I don't recognise the

number, I genuinely don't recognise it. It has moved by 60% in the space

of a few days. It is just a negotiating position. What we do

know is we are on the brink of a very tough, complex and length

renegotiation and I am not remotely surprised people are manoeuvring for

open advantage in that negotiation. From the public point of view this

will be a tough negotiation, who do you want running it? It's fairly

obvious to us, Theresa May. Francis Elliott from the Times.

First of all, Secretary of State, to you, Michel Barnier is making it

clear Theresa May won't be allowed to negotiate directly with other EU

leaders. What do you say to that? And you, chances are, you don't have

enter your manifesto launch to spout all your tax and spending lines. You

have an air quality consultation on Friday. Can you pledge any scrappage

scheme will be fully funded? And you said no road tax would be

reviewed... It is going up this autumn, isn't it? I will deal with

mine first. Shall I? I saw your story this morning. We're not

entering this negotiation supplicant, it's not for the other

side to lay down every single rule. Within the laws and rules of the

European Union we are a full member until the day we leave. We pay off

all summer until the day we leave, we obey the laws at all really. And

it is a member of this council. People will make the eventual

decision, she will be meeting them on a monthly basis or more.

Similarly we will decide the structure of that not the European

Union. On air quality strategy, you know we

are under instruction from the court...