Ed Balls speech to Fabian Society

Ed Balls speech to Fabian Society; Growth Second, alongside fiscal discipline, the reforms I set out earlier to get people back young people back to work and earn our way to long-term economic growth and prosperity are also vital to deficit reduction. We can only reduce the fiscal deficit if our recovery is balanced, long-term and doesn’t sow the seeds of problems ahead. The challenge is to deliver stronger, investment-led growth which helps reduce the deficit in a sustainable way. And with business investment still weak, housing demand once again outstripping housing supply and the IMF forecasting that UK growth will slow down again next year, it’s clear that this is not yet a recovery that is built to last. On housing, we support Help to Buy. But we have called on the government to allow the Bank of England to urgently review how the scheme is working and to target its impact. As we have said before, it cannot make sense for taxpayers to guarantee mortgages on homes worth as much £600,000. And we have consistently warned, as have the CBI and the IMF, that action to support housing demand must be matched by action to increase housing supply. But none of these things have happened. So I say George Osborne must listen to the CBI and the IMF and act in the Budget to bring forward housing investment. We need Help to Build, not just Help to Buy. This would help people aspiring to own their own home, create thousands of jobs and apprenticeships and ensure we have a recovery that is built to last. And it is why housing investment will be a central priority for the next Labour government. Of course, there is a careful fiscal judgement to be made. I have said that there will be no more borrowing for day to day spending in 2015-16. But consistent with our tough fiscal rules, we will assess the case for extra capital spending to boost growth and jobs and make our economy stronger for the long-term. Because the longer ...