Philip Hammond vows to match lost EU funding for business
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Version 0 of 1. The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has sought to reassure business about the potential economic shock of Brexit, unveiling a new guarantee over EU funding and promising the referendum result should not result in people becoming poorer or less secure. Speaking to the Conservative party conference in Birmingham, Hammond also talked of what he called a pragmatic approach to austerity, reiterating that he would not seek a budget surplus by the end of this parliament in 2020. In a speech that took numerous potshots at Labour and even mocked Ed Balls for his current tenure on Strictly Come Dancing, Hammond focused on his plans for an economically smooth exit from the EU. The referendum on 23 June was a defining moment in a generation, Hammond said, adding: “No ifs, no buts, no second referendums. We are leaving the European Union.” He continued: “But it is equally clear to me that the British people did not vote on 23 June to become poorer or less secure.” Speaking in the wake of Theresa May’s address to the conference, which appeared to hint that the government was pursuing a “hard Brexit” without full access to the EU’s single market, Hammond noted that many businesses were unsure about what lay ahead. Given that “business hates uncertainty”, Hammond said the Treasury would offer to guarantee all multi-year EU business funding agreed before Brexit, so long as they met value-for-money criteria. Speaking of the task ahead, Hammond said the UK sought to control its borders “while protecting our economy, our jobs and our living standards”. He continued: “The message may be simple, but the process will be complex. Successful negotiation with the EU27 will demand patience, experience, meticulous planning and steely resolution.” In a section of the speech heavily trailed the day before, Hammond promised to pay down the deficit but to do so at a slower and more flexible pace. “The British people elected us on a promise to restore fiscal discipline,” he said. “And that is exactly what we are going to do. But we will do it in a pragmatic way that reflects the new circumstances we face.” This would involve no longer having to generate a surplus by 2020, he said, although the longer-term notion of “fiscal consolidation” – balancing the budget – must be maintained, he said. In more party political sections, Hammond accused Jeremy Corbyn of taking Labour “back to the bad old days of tax, spend and waste”. While some have noted that the new fiscal loosening is reminiscent of Balls’s views when he was shadow chancellor, Hammond mocked the former Labour MP and his Saturday evening dancing on BBC1. “Remember Ed Balls?” he asked, to laughter from the audience. “I know you remember him from Saturday night – I’m asking if you remember him from when he was shadow chancellor. “Yes, I saw Ed on Saturday too – and, not to sound too much like Craig Revel Horwood, I think his charleston is probably better than his economic analysis.” Hammond ended with a combined appeal and prediction of a prosperous and confident economic future in the wake of EU departure. “Conference, the British people have made a bold decision,” he said. “Our party trusted them with the nation’s future in a referendum, and now they trust our party to deliver on their decision. We will not let them down. But we are not going to turn our backs on the nations of Europe.” He added: “Our economic future must not be defined by Brexit alone. So as we tread the path to becoming an independent, sovereign country once again when future generations look back on our decision in 2016, they will see not the end of an era, but the beginning of a new age.” |