Proactive Investors - The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has urged politicians from both sides to base economic decisions around the long-term future of the country rather than short-term fixes.
Speaking at the Resolution Foundation conference, Hunt said: “I think that what really matters is that despite all the political noise, Governments find the nerve to make long term changes - the really difficult changes - that will make a difference.”
He said the UK is not alone among western nations in suffering from a low-growth performance, as he defended measures in his Autumn Statement aimed at boosting investment and productivity.
But asked if the UK economy was suffering from a broken leg, Hunt said the country had a “sprained ankle” but that his government was coming up with measures to improve its economic performance, including changes to the tax system to incentivise business investment.
Hunt also said he wanted to reverse the real-terms declines in public investment that was pencilled into the Autumn Statement when it was possible.
He said the UK could be the “most prosperous” economy this century because of its “untapped potential”.