An International Response to the Global Downturn
The Government has been taking action to get the UK through the economic downturn. Moves to shore up the banking sector have meant no one has lost their savings from a British bank. The VAT cut and Tax Credit increases in the autumn put money in people’s pockets during difficult times. And the focus on helping small businesses has aimed to keep as many people in work as possible.
But no country is going to be able to ride out the downturn alone. The world economy is simply too interdependent. There is no protectionist solution to our problems. That’s why the international response agreed in London last week is so important. If we are to protect and provide jobs in this country then we need global agreements to get the global economy moving again.
The need for international co-operation right now stretches further than simply economic agreements. Two weeks ago a group of students from Newcastle University were down at Westminster as part of the Students Stop Aids campaign. They were keen to remind the Government of its commitments to halting the spread of HIV in the developing world. They were right – if we are to see our own economy continue to grow we must not allow other nations to fall backwards into poverty. We have a duty to continue to fight against the spread of preventable diseases around the world, even when times are difficult at home.
We must also maintain the global fight against climate change. In the North East we’ve approached renewable energy as a key provider of new jobs, and it’s fair to say we’re now the UK centre in this field.
The work we’ve done towards building a wind farm factory on the banks of the Tyne is starting to pay off. With further announcements to come we could be looking at several thousand new jobs, while also making sure our region plays its part in facing the global environmental challenge.