Budget 09: Darling's speech in full

Mr Deputy Speaker, today’s Budget will continue to help people through this global recession, and prepare Britain for the opportunities of the future.

Firstly, there will be help now to get people back into work quickly, and support businesses and homeowners facing problems.

Secondly, there will be measures to support investment in the growth and green industries of the future – while, as the recovery takes hold, ensure our public finances are sustainable.

We will protect investment in schools, hospitals and other key public services – and we will work to rebuild our financial services.

Taken together, this Budget will build on the strengths of the British economy and its people, speed the recovery, providing jobs and spreading prosperity.

In all of these decisions, we have been guided by our core values of fairness and opportunity – and our determination to invest and grow our way out of recession.

Mr Deputy Speaker, today’s Budget will take Britain through the most serious global economic turmoil for over 60 years.

The impact is being felt in every continent, country and community.

When the world economy was plunged into deep crisis in the 1930s, the response, both nationally and internationally, was too little and too late.

This failure to act turned a serious downturn into a prolonged depression.

We will not repeat those mistakes again.

This time, we and other countries, have worked to avoid them.

Across the globe, we have seen decisive action by national governments, and internationally too.

This action, taken promptly and decisively, gives us good grounds for confidence.

Mr Deputy Speaker, today’s Budget builds on the substantial help for people and businesses in the Pre-Budget Report in November.

It builds on the steps we have taken to recapitalise and restore confidence in our financial institutions.

And it builds on the outcome of the G20 Summit in London this month, when the world’s leading economies came together to agree unprecedented co-ordinated action to speed global recovery.

The action already taken here, and internationally, and the measures I will announce today, mean that I expect the economy to start growing again towards the end of the year.

I am also confident that, as the global economy recovers to double in size over the next 20 years, Britain can, and will be, a world leader.

This Budget will help make sure we seize this opportunity.

Mr Deputy Speaker, as I told the House in November, we and other countries have been battling against a succession of shocks which have hit the world economy.

At the end of 2007, problems in international mortgage markets began to put a damaging squeeze on credit.

In early 2008, we also saw dramatic volatility in many commodities prices, adding to uncertainty and putting pressure on growth.

Last autumn, the dramatic failure of one of the top investment banks in America – Lehman Brothers – shattered already fragile confidence and brought the international financial system to its knees.

Since then, an extraordinary international financial crisis has fed into the wider economy, causing a steep and widespread world recession.

A crisis that started in the developed economies has spread to emerging and developing countries.

Industrial production has fallen and unemployment is rising – by 5 million in the US alone.

In the last few months, world trade fell – and while our exports are down 14 per cent, exports in Germany are down 21 per cent, in China 26 per cent, and in Japan 45 per cent.

For the first time since the Second World War, the world economy is expected to contract this year.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the last few months have seen considerable economic uncertainty.

And that has fully justified the action we, and other countries, have taken to support business and people.

Firstly, there will be help now to get people back into work quickly, and support businesses and homeowners facing problems.

Secondly, there will be measures to support investment in the growth and green industries of the future – while, as the recovery takes hold, ensure our public finances are sustainable.

We will protect investment in schools, hospitals and other key public services – and we will work to rebuild our financial services.

Taken together, this Budget will build on the strengths of the British economy and its people, speed the recovery, providing jobs and spreading prosperity.

In all of these decisions, we have been guided by our core values of fairness and opportunity – and our determination to invest and grow our way out of recession.

Mr Deputy Speaker, today’s Budget will take Britain through the most serious global economic turmoil for over 60 years.

The impact is being felt in every continent, country and community.

When the world economy was plunged into deep crisis in the 1930s, the response, both nationally and internationally, was too little and too late.

This failure to act turned a serious downturn into a prolonged depression.

We will not repeat those mistakes again.

This time, we and other countries, have worked to avoid them.

Across the globe, we have seen decisive action by national governments, and internationally too.

This action, taken promptly and decisively, gives us good grounds for confidence.

Mr Deputy Speaker, today’s Budget builds on the substantial help for people and businesses in the Pre-Budget Report in November.

It builds on the steps we have taken to recapitalise and restore confidence in our financial institutions.

And it builds on the outcome of the G20 Summit in London this month, when the world’s leading economies came together to agree unprecedented co-ordinated action to speed global recovery.

The action already taken here, and internationally, and the measures I will announce today, mean that I expect the economy to start growing again towards the end of the year.

I am also confident that, as the global economy recovers to double in size over the next 20 years, Britain can, and will be, a world leader.

This Budget will help make sure we seize this opportunity.

Mr Deputy Speaker, as I told the House in November, we and other countries have been battling against a succession of shocks which have hit the world economy.

At the end of 2007, problems in international mortgage markets began to put a damaging squeeze on credit.

In early 2008, we also saw dramatic volatility in many commodities prices, adding to uncertainty and putting pressure on growth.

Last autumn, the dramatic failure of one of the top investment banks in America – Lehman Brothers – shattered already fragile confidence and brought the international financial system to its knees.

Since then, an extraordinary international financial crisis has fed into the wider economy, causing a steep and widespread world recession.

A crisis that started in the developed economies has spread to emerging and developing countries.

Industrial production has fallen and unemployment is rising – by 5 million in the US alone.

In the last few months, world trade fell – and while our exports are down 14 per cent, exports in Germany are down 21 per cent, in China 26 per cent, and in Japan 45 per cent.

For the first time since the Second World War, the world economy is expected to contract this year.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the last few months have seen considerable economic uncertainty.

And that has fully justified the action we, and other countries, have taken to support business and people.