This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk_politics/8710071.stm

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 5 Version 6
Cameron 'will transform economy' Cameron pledges to back business
(about 1 hour later)
David Cameron is outlining plans to "transform" the economy in his first major speech as prime minister. David Cameron has pledged to make the next decade the "most entrepreneurial and dynamic in our history" in his first major speech as prime minister.
Mr Cameron, speaking at an event in Yorkshire, will claim the economy has been heading in the wrong direction under Labour for years. He said he would help firms by cutting red tape, improving trade and transport links and getting banks lending.
He also said the economy should be rebalanced in favour of manufacturing, business and the private sector. The government's ambition was to have the "most competitive corporate tax system in the G20".
He told GMTV critics of a planned rise in capital gains tax (CGT) should "calm down a bit and wait for the Budget". He urged critics of plans to raise non-business capital gains tax not to "get ahead of themselves" before the Budget.
Some of his own senior Tory MPs have attacked the planned rise on non-business CGT - which could see taxes on the profits of second home and other asset sales more than double to 40% or 50% - as a tax on the middle classes.Some of his own senior Tory MPs have attacked the planned rise on non-business CGT - which could see taxes on the profits of second home and other asset sales more than double to 40% or 50% - as a tax on the middle classes.
'Be calm' 'Modest revenue'
But Mr Cameron urged them to wait for the Budget. He told GMTV: "People don't yet know what our proposals are. Everyone's getting a bit ahead of themselves on this issue." Mr Cameron told GMTV critics of a planned rise in capital gains tax (CGT) should "calm down a bit and wait for the Budget".
He added: "We have to be calm about this because in a coalition there are inevitably going to be arguments and discussions about tax policy and other policies. And sometimes these will happen much more in the open than in the past." But he said there was a problem with the tax system where CGT was taxed at 18% while there were much higher rates for income tax "which is encouraging tax avoidance" and their plans were for a "modest additional revenue raising exercise" to lift some of the poorest people out of income tax.
The decisions we make now will live with us for decades to come. For many years we have been heading in the wrong direction David Cameron The decisions we make now will live with us for decades to come. For many years we have been heading in the wrong direction David Cameron class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/politics/8707931.stm">No split on capital gains - Cable
On Thursday Lib Dem Business Secretary Vince Cable insisted the coalition government was not split over the planned CGT rise - adding it would help fulfil the Lib Dem aim of bringing more "fairness" to the tax system. In a speech in Yorkshire, Mr Cameron said the coalition government would try to "rebalance" the economy, which he said had become "heavily reliant on just a few industries and a few regions - particularly London and the South East".
He told the BBC: "It's very important that we have wealth taxed in the same way as income." He said it did not mean "picking winners" but meant supporting growing industries like aerospace, hi-tech engineering and low carbon technology.
In his speech on Friday Mr Cameron stressed the need to cut the £156bn deficit and get people back into work. He said he wanted to "give manufacturing another chance in this country" by "getting the infrastructure right" - including supporting high speech rail development and improving international trade links.
Spending cuts He said the new government was committed to Crossrail and would not ignore London but would have a plan "to breathe economic life into the towns and cities outside the M25".
He said that his government intended to spread economic growth across regions and industries and end the "inevitability" of millions on long-term welfare. 'Priority'
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith has said Britain's welfare system is "trapping" poor people in poverty. Getting on top of the £156bn budget deficit was a priority - but went "hand in hand" with economic growth, he said, following Labour's accusations that cutting public spending this year could jeopardise economic recovery.
Mr Cameron argued that the economy has become too dependent on the public sector, over-focused on the City at the expense of manufacturing, and with too many people reliant on welfare. He said they had already scrapped Home Information Packs, to make selling homes easier while the housing market was fragile, announced a moratorium on business rates and a new fast-track system for international patents.
But although he set out his longer term aspirations, the issue of potential tax rises and spending cuts are not expected to be mentioned until the Budget next month. But he said the government would do more to make it easier to start businesses, stop excessive regulation, and cutting corporation tax by simplifying reliefs and allowances.
I'm not going to go around the country with a chequebook signing cheques for every company that has a bright idea. We can't operate that way, Vince Cable
And he said the government's ambition was "to have the most competitive corporate tax system in the G20".
In his speech, Mr Cameron said the country was at a "turning point".In his speech, Mr Cameron said the country was at a "turning point".
"The decisions we make now will live with us for decades to come. For many years we have been heading in the wrong direction," he said."The decisions we make now will live with us for decades to come. For many years we have been heading in the wrong direction," he said.
"Our economy has become more and more unbalanced, with our fortunes hitched to a few industries in one corner of the country, while we let other sectors like manufacturing slide. 'Strong case'
"It has become over-reliant on welfare, with mass worklessness accepted as a fact of life and around five million people now on out-of-work benefits. The economy had become too reliant on "a few industries in one corner of the country", "mass worklessness" had been accepted as a fact of life and Britain had become "increasingly hostile to enterprise" and too dependent on the public sector.
"It has become increasingly hostile to enterprise, with business investment in the past decade growing at around 1% each year - only a quarter of what it was the decade before. Business Secretary Vince Cable stressed: "I don't want to raise unrealistic expectations. I'm not going to go around the country with a chequebook signing cheques for every company that has a bright idea.
"It has become far too dependent on the public sector, with over half of all jobs created in the last 10 years associated in some way with public spending." "We can't operate that way, the government's budget does not allow it to happen. That kind of behaviour was beginning to happen under the last government and it's not sustainable."

The truth is in it's first weeks the government have made a number of announcements that are bad for business and bad for our regional economies Pat McFaddenLabour
Did you listen to David Cameron's speech? What do you think of his plans for the economy? Send us your comments. name="say"> But he said government could help business, through deregulation, helping get more skilled and educated people into firms and making sure banks were lending money.
The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide. href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/terms/">Terms & Conditions And he said while Regional Development Agencies faced cuts in the South and South East, where businesses were recovering, where they were working well and "deliver for business, they would "continue pretty much as they are".
In other areas like the North East, North West, Yorkshire and West Midlands, there was a "very strong case for keeping that model", he said.
But he said RDAs, in a tougher financial environment, would be reformed and changed and their functions reviewed.
For Labour, shadow business secretary Pat McFadden said: "How can the prime minister talk about the importance of manufacturing when he is planning to cut investment allowances to support manufacturing in order to give a corporation tax cut to parts of the economy that don't rely on investment?"
He added: "The truth is in it's first weeks the government have made a number of announcements that are bad for business and bad for our regional economies."