some of the topics he talked about were the global economy in britain's trade relations with other countries. this is 20 minutes. >> silence for the prime >> ster -- >> my lord mayor, my late lord mayor, my grace, my lords, sheriffs, ladies and gentlemen, others. let me start by thanking lord mayor number 685 for a year of great service to this city and to our country.

[applause] and let me congratulate lord mayor number 686 not only on her appointment but also for the fantastic visions that she has just sent out. >> hear, hear. [applause] >> it is a vision of diverse city and inclusivity that is every bit as right for our country as it is for the city of london. it was a great speech, and it is good to see, as you said, that a woman is now wearing the pants in this place. [applause] [laughter] having seen my colleague get up this evening, a shame that the lord chancellor is wearing his trousers. i have no crystal ball, lord mayor, about what your time holds, but our experience in national politics is this. when a woman stormed the barricades and takes the top

job, it does nothing but good for our country. [applause] in previous years, i have set out the principles of a british foreign-policy that is outward looking and firmly in our national interest. in the last year, we have stayed true to those principles. we hosted a g-8 which launched negotiations on the biggest bilateral trade deal in history, a deal between the eu and the u.s. that could be worth 10 billion pounds to britain alone. we agreed on a declaration that should ensure companies pay their taxes, governments are transparent by their income, and the world endorses free trade. we have continued to promote

british business abroad, with more foreign direct investment in britain this year than in any other country on our planet. we negotiated a real term cut in the eu budget, and we set out plans for a more competitive and flexible european union and promised to the british people a referendum on a settlement that we reached. we honored our promises to the poorest in the world, vaccinating a child against diseases that can kill every two seconds over the last year. we continue to help around the world, as we are today in the philippines, where the typhoon has brought such appalling devastation. britain is contributing 10 million pounds, and hms dary, currently deployed near singapore, with shortly be heading. eat towards the disaster zone, with further support from an raf, which will be a powerful help to the relief operation, and when it came to the brutal

crimes of assad regime's against its people, we stood up for the right values in syria, and let's not pretend that syria would now be giving up its chemical weapons if we and our allies have looked the other way. britain is a country that has always been prepared to stand up for its values, and today, on armistice day, let us join together in paying tribute to all of this brave men and women across the generations who have given their lives for our safety and our freedom. [applause] four years, prime ministers have been coming to this banquet to talk about the big, global challenges facing britain and the west. traditionally, these have been about our security and our values, but today, the biggest

challenge that we face is economic. it is about how we would assure a strong, sustained, and successful recovery that delivers for everyone in britain, and let's remember that a strong and successful economy is the foundation of our influence when it comes to the foreign-policy issues that we traditionally talk about here. so it is this economic challenge that i want to talk about tonight. now, of course, britain has recovered from recessions and financial pressures before, but this time, there is a difference. in the past, there was an assumption that the west would still emerge as the strongest in the world, whether it was the 1930's or the 1970's. it was clear that we were still the ones with the biggest industrial base, the ones with a scale, with a climate for enterprise, the money and the skills to trump them all, and at the number of university places surges in india, as china creates more patents than any other country in the world, people asked the question, will they be the winners, and we be

the losers? i believe we need to say a very firm no. the global economy is not a zero-sum game. of course, if we make the wrong decisions, they may well succeed at our expense, but there is a clear way forward him a to carve out a place for britain to be a real success alongside the new economic powers. but we should be under no illusion that success is far from guaranteed. so how do we succeed? let's start with what we don't do. there are some wrongheaded approaches that we absolutely need to reject.

there is a review you can characterize as stop the world, i want to get out of. it nor the interconnectedness of the world and pull up the drawbridge. is clearly not the answer. then there is the pretense that the answer is spending and borrowing more in an attempt to somehow insulate ourselves from the global competition. and at the other extreme, there is embracing globalization so enthusiastically, so unquestioningly that we actually lose sight of our national interest. we saw a fair amount of those last two purges in the previous decade, and we saw what we got in return, the biggest budget deficit in our peacetime history, untold immigration that putsch huge pressure on services and changed communities in ways that people did not feel comfortable with, so those are all wrongheaded ideas, ignore the international globalized economy, or connecting to insulate ourselves against it or slavishly following it. none of these is the right answer.

so what is? engage in some sort of race to the bottom? absolutely not. that completely misunderstands the dynamics of the modern global economy. it is not simply a competition for who can produce the same goods at cheaper prices. it is about who can produce the new services, the new processes, the innovation that can create and sustain the jobs of the future, and that is why it is increasingly high skilled jobs. >> so, the right prescription is not to -- but, to make this country more like great britain. we had to take our damages and invest. we have the global language of business. you have a place where you can

trade with asia. the city of london. our top universities are amongst the best on the planet. they create innovation and credibility. we are the country that invented everything. you name it, we created it. most of the world sports, not that we always wanted them. whether it is sequencing the genome, isolating things, or , nine out of the 10 smartphones in the world. the scientists and technical expertise that is the envy of the world. this is competitive, pioneering, creative, innovative. that ledhis country

the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution and need market-based revolution of the 1980s and lead the economic revolution of today. as we do so, we should never forget this. our institutions and our democracy, property rights, access to markets, the rule of not these things are incidental to the economic strength. they are t-2 it. conditione a golden for our country to thrive in the long term. for our country to make a success in the global race, we have to do things different. we cannot rebuild the same type of economy that we had before the crash will stop we cannot go back to how things used to be all stop we need to build something better. a vision of a new kind of

economy. shared bybenefits are all. north and south alike. and economy for everyone. everyone towards for with the right attitude and where all of our children and grandchildren can look forward to a better future. what does all this mean in practice? this means we need for thanks. and economy of the state that we can afford will stop a economy that everyone can take part in. a economy that is equipped for the future. is strong for at home and abroad. that we canconomy afford. people think that the way you reduce the cost of living is for the state to spend more taxpayer money. it is as if you measured the compassion of the government by

the amount of other people's money they can spend at a time when family budgets are tight all stop it is worth remembering that this spending comes out of the pockets of the taxpayers whose living standards we want to improve will stop i hope you'll forgive me for saying that it is not robbing peter to pay paul, but robbing peter to pay peter. the single biggest cost to living is if our deficits and again.t out of control if mortgage rates soar, the increase in the cost of living well outweigh the impact in any government spending or taxation. this government is not prepared to let that happen will stop we have a plan and we are carefully implementing that land. we have cut the episode by one third and we are sticking to the task. mean ethical just

decisions on public spending, that means something more profound. this allo do more than stop not just now, but permanently. it needs to be done. consider these facts. are 40%ars ago, there fewer working at the department of education and there are over 3000 new schools and children doing tougher subjects than ever before. there are 23,000 fewer administrative roles in the nih. there are 5000 more doctors. you can have a leaner and more efficient state that delivers better results for the taxpayer. the second thing we need is an economy where everyone can take part. that is not what we have today. consider this, 64% of children

with preschool meals do not get five good -- 4000 children leave school -- at all. that is why we are changing the education system and overhauling the curriculum to introduce more rigorous apprenticeships that give children a chance to excel. state tragedy for the individual. it is a tragedy for our country. clearly,id so inequality is not just wrong, it fundamentally disadvantages our economy. the u.k. is at the lowest ratio in europe for women in stem subjects. , one in six graduates are women. byshould aim to double that 2030. we simply cannot afford for our

manufacturing industries to be missing out on the brightest minds of half of the population. economy for everyone needs more than a great education. it means reforming the welfare system all stop no country can succeed if capable people are paid to stay idle. recessionto the last with 4 million people of working age on out of work benefit should all stop we know the most progressive way to tackle poverty is through work will stop war generations, people who by thek have been failed system and stuck on benefits. we are putting an end to the problems that have plagued the welfare system. we are capping welfare. we are introducing a universal says that every

extra job you do will make you better off. workinglso focused on alongside the state to fight poverty and build this economy so that everyone can take part. lending and the credit letting movement. we have 13 billion pounds to double credit unions. they are a shining example of society" trott checked. you cannot have an economy for all if parts of the north and role immunities are left without the transport that they need to take part. are -- rural communities that are left without the transport that they need to take part. the biggest rail investment since victorian times. crossrail is underneath us now.

the biggest construction project in europe. the first new train line running north out of london for 120 years. there may be some people want to stop these changes or argue for them to happen somewhere else and away from their backyard. let me tell you this am a we have a plan for the long term and we will stick to the task. we need a bigger and more prosperous five and sector to generate wealth and pay for the public services that we need. we need to support, reward, and celebrate enterprise. this requires a fundamental change in culture in our culture. values that reward people with ambition and create jobs for others.

that is what this government is on a mission to do. we want to make britain the best place to start, finance, and grow a business. we're are cutting the corporation tax to 20% which is the lowest in the g 20. taking innovative industries that will revolutionize our markets. we are identifying sectors where boundaries need to be removed and disruptive business models. put not want us to just enterprise at the heart of economic policy. i want to make sure it is boosted everywhere. i want to celebrate it and communities. i want to support it abroad. i want to make enterprise a fundamental part of our foreign too.cy, to will stop --

thanks to the support from the u.k. export finance, i want us to build a map. -- build on that. i will leave in the front in the coming months. i can announce that i will be leading a trade delegation to china. leadership is setting direction for the next 10 years and their star continues to rise in the world. i will take senior ministers and business leaders from every sector, large and small, to forge a relationship that will benefit both countries and bring real rewards to our peoples in a way that will allow british companies to benefit from the chinese markets and prepare for a new level of chinese investments here in the u.k. thatis a relationship matters for britain and for

china and i look forward to strengthening it in the months and years to come. we do not just need more investment from china, want to do more to attract investors from the golf. -- gulf. we will introduce a visa waiver system to make it easier for companies to come here and do business. this will be up and running in the new year. doing something to drive up that investment. that sir michael newagreed to generate a investment organization as part of trade investment. majors from an investment. these projects will not just mean new jobs in london. they will mean it across the country.