captioning performed by vitac we're backing mortgages for people to get new homes, because it's absolutely clear to me that there is a massive shortage of housing in a market that has stalled, and we need to get that market moving again. then, there are the things that will take longer, but will still make a vital difference. we need to rebalance our economy so we're supporting the new enterprises with 24 enterprise zones and a 2.4 billion regional growth fund that's securing jobs nationwide. we need to get behind the industries of the future, like

green technology, aerospace, and life sciences. including tribunals and develop the skills of our workforce, which is why we have delivered 40,000 new apprenticeships in the last year alone, but we need to do more, embedding high-quality, vocational education, which is why we're creating technical colleges, completing part of our education system that should never have been left out, but then there are the things for the very long term, but this is a government about the long term, so we're absolutely focussed on delivering them, we're investing in infrastructure, building high-speed rail, finding new ways to finance roads, and securing the power supplies of tomorrow. we're reforming welfare so it always pays to have a job, get a

job, and build a culture that convinces everyone to work, not a life on benefits, and, of course, we're reforming our schools so the next generations have the knowledge and ambition to match the very best in the world. this is our plan for growth, short-term, medium term, long-term, but i believe there's still more that we can do. we can use the credibility of the government's balance sheet to help the economy grow without adding even further to our debt. let me tell you what this means. in many areas, we're already using the credibility we earned to pass on low interest rates to businesses and to families so we have small businesses, we have the mortgage help for people who want new homes, then the guarantees for new infrastructure projects. i want us to go further, so i asked the treasury to see what more we can do. we have taken the tough

decisions to earn those low interest rates, so let's make sure we are putting them to the best possible use. building recovery is hard work, because we're not reflating the bubble, but we are building a new model of growth. some people ask why we did not have more economy bills in the queen's speech, let me tell you, the truth is, you can't. you need to get in there, you need to pick the problems apart. you need to find the things that hold our economy back and sort them out, step by step, hour by hour. a government that is resolutely committed to being on the side of enterprise, entrepreneurs, businesses large and small, and hard-working people right across the country. that is what i'm committed to delivering. now, just as in britain we need to deal with the deficit and restore competitiveness, so the same is true of europe. this is a debt crisis, and the

deficits that cause those debts, they have to be dealt with. but growth in much of the euro zone has evaporated completely. i realize that countries inside the euro zone, especially from countries such as britain that have debts and difficulties of their own, but this affects us too. as the governor of the bank of england said yesterday, the biggest risk of recovery in the uk stems from the difficulties facing the euro area. based on trade flows alone, britain is more than six times exposed to the euro zone as the united states, that's even before you factor in the impact on confidence and our closely connected financial systems. this coalition government was formed in the midst of a debt crisis in the euro zone. two years later, and little has

changed, so that is the back drop against which we have to work. so i believe it's only right we set out our views. we need to be clear about the long-term consequences of any single currency. in britain, in the united kingdom, we've had one for centuries. when one part of our country struggles, other parts step forward to help. there is a remorseless logic to it, a rigid system that locks down each state's monetary flexibility, yet limits fiscal transfers between them, can only resolve internal imbalances through painful and prolonged adjustment. so in my view, three things need to happen to function properly. first, the high deficit, low competitiveness countries in the periphery of the euro zone, they do need to confront their problems head on and cut their

spending, increase their revenues to become competitive. the idea that high deficit countries can borrow and spend their way to recovery is a dangerous delusion, but it is becoming increasingly clear that they are less likely to be able to sustain that necessary adjustment, economically or politically, unless the core of the euro zone does more to support demand and to share the burden of that adjustment. now, in britain, we're able to ease that adjustment through loose monetary policy and a flexible exchange rate and supplementing that with active intervention, such as credit easing and guarantees for new infrastructure projects, so i welcome the opportunity to explore new options at a european level, for example, through project bonds, but to rebalance your economy in a

currency union at a time of global economic weakness, you need more fundamental support. germany's finance minister is right to recognize rising wages in his country can play a part in correcting these imbalances, but monetary policy in the euro zone must also do more. second, the euro zone needs to put in place arrangements that create confidence for the future, and as the british government and i have been arguing for a year now, that means following the logic towards solutions that deliver greater forms of collective support and collective responsibility, of which euro bonds are just one possible example. steps such as these are needed to put an end to speculation about the future of the euro. and third, we all need to address europe's overall low productivity and lack of economic dynamism, which remains its achilles heel.

most eu states are becoming less competitive, not more. competition throughout europe is too constrained. indeed, britain has long been arguing for a pro business, pro-growth agenda. i formed an unprecedented alliance with 11 other eu leaders, setting out an action plan for jobs and growth in europe, pushing for the completion of the single market in services, energy, and digital. these are gains sitting there waiting to be taken if we can show the political leadership to get it done. the euro zone is at a cross roads. it either has to make up or it is looking at a potential break up. either europe has a committed, stable, successful euro zone with an effective fire wall, well capitalized and regulated banks, and supportive monetary policy across the euro zone, or we are in uncharted territory,

which carries huge risks for everybody. as i have consistently said, it is in britain's interest for the euro zone to sort out its problems, but people should be in no doubt, which ever path is chosen, i'm prepared to do whatever is necessary to protect this country and to secure our economy and financial system. protecting britain's economy, of course, though, is not just about the measures we take at home or even our steps our neighbors take in europe. in a world ever more connected and ever more competitive, it's about the steps we take to protect ourselves against global contagion and promote global trade, so over the coming weeks i'll be flying to camp david and los cabos in mexico to fight for what's right, committing together to make the reforms we need to get our economy's growth and the global economy working again, including involving

organizations like the imf. it means persisting with those reforms to make sure our banks are safe by implementing regulatory standards. it means recognizing the risks for recovery and working together to ensure our energy security, but most of all, i believe it means getting together to give the world economy the one big stimulus that could really make a difference, breaking down the barriers to world trade. now, we all know that the dohar trade is going nowhere, but that doesn't mean we have to give up on free trade, in fact, far from it. there's good work we can salvage. i want to see a commitment to open markets and protective measures already in place. and most importantly, i want us to move forward with what i call coalition of the willing, so

countries that want to can forge ahead with ambitious trade deals of their own, because we all benefit. now, for us, that means getting eu agreements finalized with india, canada, singapore, launching negotiations with japan, and above all, preparing to negotiate with the u.s. that could be the single biggest bilateral deal that could benefit britain. why is this all so important? because the opportunities for britain abroad have never been so big and we need to work to seize them. yes, competition for every job and every contract has increased, of course, and the last few years have seen the rise of the powerful new economies of latin america, asia, and africa. now these countries are not just producers, they are consumers

too, and as nations get richer, they spend more money on products where britain can excel on everything from financial services, insurance, pharmaceuticals, jet engines, music, computer games, the globalization of demand means few countries demanding our products, and that can fuel new jobs here at home. there are huge opportunities to secure a great future for our country, and that is why as we get through this crisis, i believe we can look ahead with confidence. now, i cannot predict how this crisis will end for others, and i cannot pretend that britain will be immune from the consequences either, but this i can promise, that we know what needs to be done and we are doing it. getting the deficit under control, getting the foundations for recovery in place, defending the long-term interests of our country, and holding to our course. as prime minister, i will do whatever it takes to keep

britain safe from the storm. thank you very much for listening, and i look forward to answering your questions. thank you. [ applause ] let's have gentleman here. >> thank you, good morning, prmgs, we certainly welcome your comments. today, also, there was a survey on manufacturing saying only 17% of northwest manufacturers believe the government is adopting the right strategies to help develop the sector and nearly half are not confident that manufacturing in the next decade, given the government's points, i wonder what your response would be. sorry, from inside a magazine, we're a regional business publication, thank you. >> i think manufacturing is absolutely an essential part of the community and we should stop talking down the good parts of the economy we have that we can

build on. we are one of the world's top ten manufacturers, and if you take the car industry, for years people thought britain had stopped making cars. well, today we are making and exporting more cars than we import, and it's difficult to find a car manufacturer in britain that isn't investing or expanding. i've been to almost all the major plants over the year. nissan, great new orders of cars there, honda, again, fantastic business full of investment growing at the moment. jaguar/land rover, they can't produce cars fast enough to sell into the chinese market, and they are building a brand new engine factory, so we are a great manufacturer, we need to do more to get behind manufacturing and more to rebalance our economy, but the truth is this, when you had an economy so much based on a housing boom, on a financial services boom, on uncontrolled

migration, and on government spending, it is hard and pain-staking work to rebalance that model that couldn't work anymore, we've seen what a mirage it was, you have to rebalance away from that model into making things again, expanding your growth across the country, making sure we are exporting all over the world, so this is hard and pain-staking work, but i would say to manufacturers here in the northwest and else where, the government's behind you, we are investing in apprenticeships, building the infrastructure you need, we're listening carefully about problems like energy costs. i think the car industry -- for those who say britain can't do it, somehow everything has to be made overseas, the car demonstrates that's not the case. this can be done, and the government is absolutely committed to helping make sure it is done. let's have vicky young from the

bbc. >> reporter: do you think it's helpful to speculate publicly about the breakup of the euro, given just a few days ago your own chancellor said that was what was causing a lot of the instability, and secondly, you promised to keep britain safe, and a lot of people do agree if greece exits we're in uncharted territory, is that a promise you can keep? >> first of all, i think it's more dangerous to stay silent. i think it's essential to speak out about what needs to be done to safeguard the euro zone and britain to deliver the strong and stable economic growth that we want. interest has an interest in this. we're not in the euro, not going to join the euro, but what happens in the euro zone affects us, and we need to make absolutely sure that proper planning is being done, proper work is being done, and we've been absolutely consistent. since i've been prime minister,

i've been talking about building up that fire wall, safeguarding euro's banks, making sure you have a euro zone that is credible, having a single currency that coheres, and that is what i'm talking about today, so i think it's more dangerous to stay silent than speak out. speaking out is essential because we need, together, to take the action to safeguard the system. in terms of the uk, as i've said, of course, you can't cut ourselves off and say what happens in europe doesn't affect us. it does affect us. my argument today is we should make most of the freedoms and the flexibilities that we have in terms of our banks, in terms of our regulatory system, in terms of our economy, but we should do everything we can to work with our partners in europe to make sure everything that needs to be done to safeguard the situation is being done, and making a speech like i am today is an important part of it. alex forest. >> reporter: alex forest, itv

news, given what you said, do you think now the euro zone is doomed to fail, and secondly, given that there is quite a ground swell of opinion the uk should get out of europe, is it time to hold an in/out referendum on this issue? >> first of all, on the issue of britain and europe, i think we want for britain what is best for britain, and in my view, what is best is to be in the european single market, we're a trading nation, our businesses need access to those markets, so our membership with the european union, access to the single market, is essential for britain's national interest, so i don't believe that leaving the european union is the right answer, we're a trading nation, that's what we do. doesn't mean you have to join everything in europe, no matter what you think of it. i've been very clear, britain should stay out of the euro, we do better with our own currency,

interest rates, and flexibility. if something comes up like the recent eu treaty, we didn't have the safeguards we need, so i vetoed that treaty as a european union treaty. on the issue of the euro itself, we have to understand that the members of the euro want to make that currency work. we have to be clear that it's no our interests for there to be a working euro zone and a working euro. what i'm saying today is that if we want a working euro and we want the euro to function properly, there are decisions that have to be made about the future of that currency. i think what's damaging is the uncertainty of there not being the right clarity about what needs to be done, and what i'm saying today is there are steps that have to be taken to secure the future of that currency, to secure confidence in it, and britain wants to play its part in making constructive

suggestions on how that can be done. sir? >> reporter: prime minister, you've said you will do -- you said you would do all you could to prevent britain from suffering in the storm, i think was the exact words, you didn't mention the effect on those suffering in the uk, the losers in this situation, most of whom were not responsible for the difficulties that we're now in. how do you feel about that? >> well, i think we are protecting -- there are many people who face difficulties because of our economic situation, because we've had to make cuts in public spending, because we've had to make cuts in welfare, like i've said, but i believe the way the government is going to back this is fair and we are protecting those who are most in need. that is why, for instance, we have increased the pension, corrected the krey benefits, we're just getting the budgets

properly under control, so i do believe we are proper, fair government that shows a solidarity to those who are in need, but frankly, the best way we can help people who are out of work is to get them a job, and that's why the focus of the government's activity are things like the work program, which is the biggest backed work program we've had in our country in 60 years, and it's actually tailored carefully to help the neediest people at all. they've tended to take recently unemployed people, churn them through a system and try to get them into some form of work so the welfare to work provider can collect the check. the work program is completely different to that. we're saying to these welfare to work providers, if you can take someone who's been on incapacity benefit, who's been out of work for year after year, who's completely forgotten what it's like to work, we will pay you a serious amount of money, up to 14,000 pounds per person, but

only if you get them into work and they are still in work after months, after years. so this is actually a deeply compassionate use of a really clever system of payment by results to say we're going to use all the tools we have at our disposal to help the neediest people in our country get what they really need, the dignity and money that comes from work, so i absolutely defend what the government's doing in terms of an active agenda, compassionate agenda, to help those who need it the most. gentleman here. >> reporter: david pollack, i set my business up 20 years ago, take advantage of deregulation, i employ just a short 200 people now, we're in the top 100 growing companies in the last two years, so i think we know something about growing a business and motivating our employees. my point for yourself is i've

found the rhetoric currently coming out of the government has been somewhat anti-business, anti-wealth, anti-success. i think that's constructive or supportive, you've said many times entrepreneurs, small to medium-sized businesses are the key to driving this economy. you drive and grow a business by motivating your top salespeople, i'm not sure the government's being bold enough with their tax structures for incentivizing entrepreneurs. equally, you call it sticking to a plan when it's not been working. if you're a businessperson, it's not a thing you do, you're constantly moving, adjusting, we're all behind you 100%, we want this country to be great, we want to put the great back into britain, but i think intransigence is a sign of weakness and he needs to moderate approaches language, because we need to grow this

economy. >> let me answer that robustly. first of all, i would challenge you to find any agenda that business has asked for or that entrepreneurs have specifically asked for that we haven't taken on as a government. business asked for planning reform, we delivered planning reform, business asked for deregulation, we're delivering, there's a clear agenda there, tearing up a whole series of regulations. businesses asked for tax reform, we are using the money we do have to cut corporate tax rates because we believe it is uncompetitive with the rest of the world, even though it is not necessarily a popular thing to do here. on the issue of entrepreneurs, which i take this very seriously and have a -- people who want to start and grow a business. i'm always asking them, what more can we do to expand the enterprise investment schemes that we have, and they say to

me, we think you have made big steps forward, but right now i think for starting and growing a business, the tax system here is very, very favorable. indeed, if you start a business this year and put capital gains into it, you will not pay any tax on those capital gains, not only this year, olympics year, but not ever on those gains, so i would challenge you to say, if there are more agendas, give them to me, because i'll put them in place. your point on language, though, i think is important, and frankly is a challenge. everybody, i think, in the country knows, and this is the case whether you're the most rabid supporter of free enterprise or someone who takes an entirely different view. that some things went wrong in our financial services industry and there was a system of pay and bonuses and the rest of it that not only didn't serve those banks, but certainly didn't serve the rest of the economy,

and i think the challenge of politicians, because we're responsible for language and setting the tone, is we have to make absolutely clear that when we say there were unacceptable practices in some of the banks and financial services industries that cause some of the problems we face, we should be very careful that rhetoric doesn't in any way reflect we don't want people to succeed in business, to succeed in manufacturing or, indeed, to succeed in finance. i want this to be a country where people grow up wanting to take part in business, to set up companies, to create wealth, create jobs, we have to get that rhetoric right, and i'm absolutely committed to that, but the challenge you'll accept, how do you do that, while at the same time trying to clear up some of the unacceptable practices that happened in the past, but it's a political challenge, and one i'm happy to take on. one last question from the lady here. >> reporter: hello, claire marie, and i've had my own

business for about ten years now, and my biggest single constraint, as in a microbusiness and entrepreneur, is child care, so it's the biggest cost i have to run my business, and also the accessibility of flexible child care, and i say at the school gates, plenty of well-educated women who have opted out of the business world because they can't get the balance right, so one of the ideas i would ask your team back at the ranch to take a look at is can we optimize my business and allow me to do more. >> i think you raise a really important point, and sometimes -- tomorrow i'm going to be making announcements, and sometimes i think the media thinks what are you doing talking about child care and you're absolutely right, the two

things are linked. if we can be a more family-friendly country, have family-friendly businesses, if we can work out how to help moms back into the workplace, we'll bring up our children better. so where we put our fire power, so far, in this agenda, is helping particularly the least well off parents to get back into the workforce, so we have increased the hours of free nursery child care for mothers of 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, in order so they can start looking for work, they can start getting back into the job market. i'm hugely attracted to the idea of making child care tax allowable for the reasons that you give, it seems so ordinary, the issue we always have to deal with is where does the money come from. you always have to think with everything we do, someone's tax

break is someone's tax burden, so we have to ask, we have a limited amount of resources, limited amount of fire power, where do we put that fire power, but i hear what you say, if we put fire power behind better child care, more affordable child care, we'll help people come back into the workplace. one last point, it's not all about money, it's also about how we regulate child care. i had a recent case in my constituency of a very good child minder, been doing brilliant work with the neighbor's children as she went off to work, i think, in oxford, but the regulatory burdens got too great and the child minder says i'm looking after someone else's child, i'm not a business, not a nursery school, stop inspecting me as if i was a class of 12, and i think we need to look at the regulatory burdens we're putting on to britain's child minders and child careers so we can have a system where we're looking