Chancellor met market leaders this
morning and set out the government’s new, pro-growth economic
approach.
He began by acknowledging the extraordinary challenges that
families and businesses across the UK are facing this Winter,
exacerbated by Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine. He stressed
that the government will immediately focus on supporting families
and businesses to navigate the gas crisis this winter and next,
supporting the economy to grow, and committing to fiscal
sustainability.
Speaking after the meeting, Chancellor said:
“We face extraordinary economic challenges in the coming
weeks and months and I know that families and businesses across
the UK are worried.
“The Prime Minister and I are committed to taking decisive
action to help the British people now, while pursuing an
unashamedly pro-growth agenda.
“We need to be decisive and do things differently. That means
relentlessly focusing on how we unlock business investment and
grow the size of the British economy, rather than how we
redistribute what’s left.
“With a strong and resilient economy, we deliver more jobs,
higher wages, and raised living standards – all while reducing
our debt-to-GDP ratio in a fiscally sustainable way.”
Due to the scale of the gas crisis, the government’s first
priority will be to support families and businesses in the
immediate term. The Chancellor was clear this will mean necessary
higher borrowing in the short-term whilst ensuring monetary
stability and fiscal discipline over the medium term. He
committed to ensuring the economy grows faster than our debts and
keeping debt as a proportion of our economy on a downward path.
The Chancellor also reiterated his full support for
the independent Bank of England and their mission to control
inflation, which is central to tacking cost of living challenges.
Mr Kwarteng stressed that the government will support the economy
to grow. He recognised that the rate of growth has been too low
and committed to a radical supply side agenda to deliver lasting
economic growth. This will mean creating the right conditions for
business investment and innovation, reducing burdensome
regulation and taxes, which will in turn create jobs, wealth
and drive economic growth.
The Chancellor reiterated his aim to get to 2.5% trend growth,
delivering a stronger economy and a Britain that works for
everyone.
Notes to editors
Meeting attendees:
- Salman Ahmed, Global Head of Macro and Strategic Asset
Allocation, Fidelity
- Lionel Assant, Senior Managing Director, Blackstone
- Amanda Blanc, CEO, Aviva -
- Stephen Cohen, Head of EMEA, Blackrock
- Constantin Cotzias, Director, Bloomberg Europe
- Richard Gnodde, CEO, Goldman Sachs International
- Beatriz Martin, CEO UK & Group Treasurer, UBS
- Charlie Nunn, Group CEO, Lloyds Banking Group
- Noel Quinn, Group CEO, HSBC
- Viswas Raghavan, CEO EMEA & Co-Head Global Investment
Banking, JP Morgan
- Alison Rose, Group CEO, Natwest
- David Schwimmer, CEO, London Stock Exchange Group
- CS Venkatakrishnan, Group CEO, Barclays
- Nigel Wilson, CEO, Legal and General
