Building the economy of the future

Labour is working to secure people a fair future for Britain. We stand resolutely for the hard working majority of the British people. In this global economic downturn our approach is not just to help people now but to plan for recovery. Labour is taking decisive action at a local, national and global level to help people through these tough times.

 We are providing real help by investing in families, jobs and in the key sectors of the economy. Due to the global nature of this downturn it is more important than ever that we work with our European partners to provide a co-ordinated response to make the recession here at home as short as possible.  So, we are giving real support to all - not tax cuts for the few. We are bringing forward investment - not cutting services. And we will stand by those who are worried that they could lose their homes or jobs -not walk on by.

 Labour believes that when times are tough the government has a duty to step in and support people. This is why we have boosted demand in the economy, putting more money in people's pockets by cutting taxes and bringing forward government spending plus extra, targeted support to those hit hardest by the current crisis.

 To support families we brought forward an increase in child benefit and child tax credit. We helped pensioners during the winter months with an extra £60 bonus on top of the increase in the Winter Fuel payment. To put more money into the economy Labour has cut income tax by £145 for basic rate taxpayers and cut VAT to save households an average of £275 off their household bills.

 Supporting businesses so they come through the downturn stronger is integral to our future economic success. Working with banks, Labour has guaranteed loans to businesses so that they get the credit they need. And to ease pressure on businesses up and down the country, we have allowed them to defer their tax payments on a timetable that they can afford instead of going bust.

 We are acting to help ensure that losing your job does not have to mean losing your home. To make paying the bills a little easier Labour has introduced mortgage schemes which provide extra protection to help families stay in their homes if they suffer a temporary fall in income. In contrast, at a time of recession David Cameron's priority is to give an average inheritance tax cut of £200,000 to just 3,000 millionaires.

While the Conservatives have opposed the new investment in Job Centre Plus, we are investing £5 billion in measures to support people who lose their jobs. We are guaranteeing a job, training or work place to all 18-24 year olds who are unemployed for 12 months. We are increasing statutory redundancy pay.  Employers are being given a "Golden Hello" worth up to £2,500 to recruit and train people. We will not repeat the mistakes of the Tory home-grown recessions of the past where short -term unemployment became long-term unemployment.

 Providing real help now is necessary to tackle the problems we face today, but Labour is committed to preparing Britain to seize the opportunities of tomorrow. We are investing now so we are best placed to take advantage of the upturn.

 The UK will need to strive harder than ever to accelerate its transformation into a low-carbon economy because the benefits to business and the wider economy will be great. We will not shy away from key questions of the future, such as how we transport ourselves, how we heat our homes and workplaces and how we produce our goods. We will embrace these opportunities positively in order to meet our aim of creating thousands of new jobs in green technology and advanced manufacturing. So we need a strategy to ensure that the UK thrives in the key sectors of the future - creating wealth and jobs in environmental technologies, digital industries, the creative sector, advanced manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, health-care and education. To do that, we will need to forge a new industrial activism. Most of all, we will need to continue to invest smartly in our world-class science base, our education sector and our infrastructure.