Investment in the Growing Industries of the Future
The big story of the past couple of weeks has been the turmoil in the global economy and as we have seen Britain is not immune to these problems.
In the North East we’ve already felt the effects with the difficulties at Northern Rock. The action which the Government took to address those difficulties was the right one, as recent events in America bear out.
The challenge for Government now is not to pretend that Britain can avoid the effects of the international situation altogether – no country can. We have to help our country through tough times and make sure that we are in a good position to build for the future when financial markets have stabilised. The Government, led by a Prime Minister who has first hand experience of the global economy from a decade as Chancellor, is well-placed to meet the twin challenges of the credit crunch and rising commodity prices.
Two weeks ago the Government announced a new £1bn package to help families on middle and lower incomes permanently cut what they pay for their energy. It includes new measures to help with insulating houses and using fuel efficiently.
This links with the great global challenge of our times, the need to fight climate change. This is a problem which can only be faced by working together internationally, but our region can take a lead. By placing the North East of England at the forefront of the drive to develop renewable energy technology we will create new jobs in a growing sector.
I am making the case strongly for these new opportunities to be available to workers in the North East.
Continuing to strengthen the region’s employment base should be the key objective for the North East in these turbulent times.