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Coronavirus: Johnson sets out 'ambitious' economic recovery plan | |
(32 minutes later) | |
Boris Johnson has said now is the time to be "ambitious" about the UK's future, as he set out a post-coronavirus recovery plan. | Boris Johnson has said now is the time to be "ambitious" about the UK's future, as he set out a post-coronavirus recovery plan. |
The PM vowed to "use this moment" to fix longstanding economic problems and promised a £5bn "new deal" to build homes and infrastructure. | The PM vowed to "use this moment" to fix longstanding economic problems and promised a £5bn "new deal" to build homes and infrastructure. |
Plans set out in the Tory election manifesto would be speeded up and "intensified," he added. | |
Labour and the CBI said he was not focusing enough on saving jobs. | Labour and the CBI said he was not focusing enough on saving jobs. |
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said there was "not much of a deal and not much that's new". | |
It came as new figures showed the UK economy shrank faster than at any time since 1979 between January and March. | It came as new figures showed the UK economy shrank faster than at any time since 1979 between January and March. |
In a wide-ranging speech, in Dudley, in the West Midlands, Mr Johnson vowed to "build build build" to soften the economic impact of coronavirus. | |
'Brutally illuminated' | |
He acknowledged that jobs that existed at the start of the pandemic may be lost, but said a new "opportunity guarantee" would ensure that every young person had the chance of an apprenticeship or placement. | |
He said the UK "cannot continue to be prisoners of this crisis" and the government is "preparing now, slowly, cautiously to come out of hibernation". | |
"This country needs to be ready for what may be coming," he said, saying there will be an "economic aftershock". | "This country needs to be ready for what may be coming," he said, saying there will be an "economic aftershock". |
"We must use this moment now… to plan our response and to fix the problems that were most brutally illuminated in that covid lightning flash." | "We must use this moment now… to plan our response and to fix the problems that were most brutally illuminated in that covid lightning flash." |
He said the government wanted to continue with its plans to "level up" as "too many parts" of the country had been "left behind, neglected, unloved". | He said the government wanted to continue with its plans to "level up" as "too many parts" of the country had been "left behind, neglected, unloved". |
'Not a communist' | |
Infrastructure projects in England will be "accelerated" and there would be investment in new academy schools, green buses and new broadband, said the PM. | Infrastructure projects in England will be "accelerated" and there would be investment in new academy schools, green buses and new broadband, said the PM. |
He said his response would not be a return to the austerity that followed the financial crisis. | |
He attempted to calm Tory fears that he had shifted to the left, saying: "I am not a communist". | |
Instead, he claimed he had been inspired by US president Franklin D Roosevelt, who led America out of the Great Depression with his New Deal in the 1930s. | |
In the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, President Roosevelt launched one of the largest, most expensive US government programmes which included building schools, hospitals and dams. | |
The prime minister loves a big, historical comparison. | The prime minister loves a big, historical comparison. |
He is a keen student of Winston Churchill - and has even written a book about him. | He is a keen student of Winston Churchill - and has even written a book about him. |
Over the last few days, the comparisons the government has sought to draw have been with former American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his "New Deal." | Over the last few days, the comparisons the government has sought to draw have been with former American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his "New Deal." |
As my colleagues at Reality Check point out, the plan set out today is a tiddler compared to what FDR did, and a fair chunk of it is re-announcing what we already knew the government was planning. | As my colleagues at Reality Check point out, the plan set out today is a tiddler compared to what FDR did, and a fair chunk of it is re-announcing what we already knew the government was planning. |
But Boris Johnson is attempting to set out in a broader context the government's vision - and his pride in saying he wants to spend a lot to revitalise the economy and haul it out of the doldrums. | But Boris Johnson is attempting to set out in a broader context the government's vision - and his pride in saying he wants to spend a lot to revitalise the economy and haul it out of the doldrums. |
Under what he dubbed "project speed," planning laws would be streamlined to encourage building. | Under what he dubbed "project speed," planning laws would be streamlined to encourage building. |
Changes, planned for September, include: | |
Pubs, libraries, village shops will be protected from the changes as they were are "essential to the lifeblood of communities," the government has said. | |
Mr Johnson acknowledged that the planning changes might meet resistance in traditional Tory-voting areas, but said: "Sometimes you have got to get on with things." | |
'Not enough' | |
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer said: "We're facing an economic crisis, the biggest we've seen in a generation and the recovery needs to match that. What's been announced amounts to less than £100 per person. | |
"And it's the re-announcement of many manifesto pledges and commitments, so it's not enough." | |
He added: "We're not going to argue against a recovery plan, but the focus has to be on jobs." | |
The CBI said the prime minister had set out the "first steps on the path to recovery". | |
But Director General Carolyn Fairbairn said: "The focus on rescuing viable firms cannot slip while the UK looks to recovery, or earlier efforts could be wasted." | |
Housing charity Shelter accused the government of having cut the house-building budget by a third each year and dismissed the PM's plan as a "bad deal". | |
Chief executive Polly Neate said "We've already seen what happens when you take the blockers off bad housing - families end up in dangerous, overcrowded, rabbit-hutch homes. Far from bouncing forward, this is stumbling backwards." |