[Central News Agency] Chancellor of the Exchequer Hart pointed out that recently, "Britain is crumbling" and other "bad-mouthing" remarks about Britain, but the theory of Britain's decline is often based on generalized data. He called on all walks of life to focus on Britain's long-term development and potential , and summarized the "4 E's" as the pillars of British economic growth and prosperity.

The 4 E's are Entrepreneurship (Enterprise), Education (Education), Employment (Employment), and Economic Growth Everywhere.

He reiterated that under the leadership of the Conservative Party, the government will continue to pursue tax cuts and maintain a commercially competitive tax system; however, in order to maintain economic and fiscal stability, the current priority is to ensure low inflation.

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Jeremy Hunt delivered a nearly 30-minute speech today at the European headquarters of the financial news media "Bloomberg" in London, explaining the policy vision for the UK's economic development. The audience included Meta, Apple, Google ) and other well-known technology companies.

He cites a lot of data to refute the "British decline theory". For example, among the Group of Seven (G7) countries, the economic growth rate of the United Kingdom has been faster than that of France, Japan, and Italy since 2010, and since 2016 Britain's economy has grown at roughly the same rate as Germany's since the Brexit referendum in 2009.

In addition, although the employment rate has not returned to the level before the epidemic, the current unemployment rate in the UK is almost the lowest in the past 50 years; the employment rate is about 76%, which is better than Canada, the United States, France, and Italy.

Hunt noted that Britain's inflation rate is lower than that of the 14 member states of the European Union (EU), and interest rates are rising more slowly than the United States or Canada.

According to a survey recently released by London-based accounting firm PwC, the UK is the third best choice for corporate executives seeking to expand their business.

Hunt emphasized that one of the key factors driving economic growth is "optimistic expectations," which are primarily based on long-term outlooks.

In the innovative industries that will shape the course of the 21st century, the UK has many competitive advantages and has every reason to expect to play a global leadership role.

Hunter expects the UK to become "the next Silicon Valley".

In the annual Global Innovation Index (Global Innovation Index) released by the United Nations specialized agency "World Intellectual Property Organization" (WIPO) in September last year, the UK ranked fourth.

Hunt pointed out that the total number of "unicorn companies" (unlisted start-ups with an estimated market value of more than US$1 billion) in the UK is greater than that of Germany and France combined; In the Golden Triangle, the total number of technology companies is second only to San Francisco and New York.

PwC estimates that by 2030, the UK's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by as much as 10% just by developing artificial intelligence.

In addition to having one of the best financial technology industries in the world, Hunt mentioned that the UK also has the largest biotechnology industry in Europe, a leading green and clean energy industry, and a well-developed advanced manufacturing industry. Its products include nearly half of the global market. Formula One racing cars and large aero engines.

However, there are also hidden concerns about the development of the British economy, such as the need to improve productivity, the lack of employability, and the excessive concentration of wealth in the southeastern region including London.

In addition, Hunter mentioned that the UK still has not been able to take full advantage of the benefits of regulations and deregulation brought about by Brexit.

Among them, the employment structure and productivity have recently sparked a lot of discussion in the UK.

Following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (Rishi Sunak), Hunt pointed out today that about one-fifth of the UK's working-age population aged 16 to 64 belongs to the "economically inactive population" ( economically inactive); deducting students, the total number of inactive population in the UK is as high as 6.6 million, of which only 1.4 million do not rule out returning to the labor market.

The "unemployed population" in the official statistics of the UK is not included in the "economically inactive population".

In addition, according to the latest data released by the British Office for National Statistics (ONS) on the 26th, from July to September last year, the UK's labor productivity was higher than that of the COVID- The 2019 annual average before the outbreak of the 19 (coronavirus disease 2019) epidemic rose, but the productivity of the public service sector continued to slump. The data from July to September last year was about 7.4% lower than the 2019 annual average.

Hunt said the public sector must be reformed and the government will take steps to encourage people to (re)enter the job market.

According to news recently disclosed by the British media, the relevant measures being discussed within the government include raising the threshold for applying for "disability benefits", allowing those who have quit the labor market due to illness or disability to continue to receive certain benefits when they return to the workplace, or Enjoy tax breaks and other benefits.

(Editor: Xu Ruicheng) 1120128