The General Election Campaign is now in full swing and I have been out with my team on doorsteps across the constituency. From Rugby Town centre to Bulkington, local Conservatives have been campaigning hard, setting out the Conservative’s plans for Rugby and the country whilst listening to the issues that concern them.
The key issue for many people we have spoken to is our recovering economy. We all know that have gone through five difficult years together, but there is real evidence that things are getting better. Recent figures published by the IMF and ONS showed that Britain is growing faster than any other developed economy.
One of the many great success stories of the past five years has been our achievements in rebalancing the economy. When we came to office in May 2010, we inherited from Labour an economy where manufacturing had halved. Thanks to our long-term economic plan, manufacturing in 2015 is surging under this Conservative Government.
The evidence of this can be seen clearly here in our own area. Just this week it was announced that in Ansty that the London Taxi Company would be opening a new £250m manufacturing plant tom provide 1,000 new jobs here in Rugby Constituency. In addition Jaguar Land Rover have announced that they will bring production of the new XF to the West Midlands at Whitley; a move which will bring an estimated 11,000 jobs to local industry through the supply chain.
Here in Rugby we have a proud tradition of manufacturing which was regrettably allowed to decline under the last Labour Government when manufacturings share of the economy halved . We have committed to making the West Midlands once again the engine of manufacturing growth. In addition to investment in buildings and plant, the Conservative-led Government has invested in our young people. We have reformed the apprenticeships programme leading to the creation of 2 million more apprentices since 2010. Here in Rugby the number of apprenticeships has risen by 25.1% since 2010 giving hundreds more young people the skills they need to succeed in life.
All of this points to the clear choice on the ballot paper on May 7th. Labour have shown this week once and for all that they just don’t understand businesses. We Conservatives are offering a commitment to business and growth through lower taxes for hardworking families, investment in our young people and rebalancing the economy back towards manufacturing and industry.