09-23-2020, 06:05 PM
Good evening ladies and gentlemen,
It is such a privilege to be here with you all this evening, speaking at one of Britain’s preeminent think tanks and to an audience full of true advocates for the free market. I am confident that your namesake would be proud of the country we have become; a free, prosperous, enterprising nation of individuals and entrepreneurs utilizing the free market to better themselves and British society. Yes, I truly believe that Adam Smith would be pleased to see that we have taken many of his lessons to heart, and forged a nation and an economy that aligns with many of his writings about the free market and capitalism.
But I also believe Smith would be the first to remind us not to get complacent. The business of establishing and maintaining freedom is hard work, and yet allowing coercive forces to erode our freedom is quite easy. We must be vigilant, therefore, in committing ourselves to Adam Smith’s worldview, and modernizing his lessons in order to create a more justice, fair, and free society. With a Labour Party that is fundamentally opposed to the free market, this mission has become all the more important. As champions of capitalism, we must work overtime to make the case to the British people that capitalism remains fit for purpose in contemporary Britain.
I want to be this country’s next Prime Minister to make that case to the British people, and to do so by offering a candid argument about the need for freedom. The central creed of my Government’s advocacy for economic freedom will be simple: people must be free to keep what they earn, to grow their own businesses, and to chart their own destiny. Only by empowering the individual, and by removing the meddling hand of the state from their lives, can we truly build a meritocratic society that values work ethic and effort. As Prime Minister, I will spend every day of my time in office following my central creed that I’ve laid out, turning my words into action in order to build an economy where every British person can lift themselves and their families up by their own hard work. Here’s how I’ll do it.
First, I will pursue an economic agenda that puts more money into the pockets of individuals and families, empowering British workers to keep more of what they earn. A simple fact that socialists still refuse to accept is this: people know how to spend their money better than the state can for them. That’s why I’ll keep income taxes low, with a goal to raise the threshold for which taxes on income begins, and to reduce direct taxes through successive budgets. Over the life of the next Parliament I want to see the new introductory base rate of income tax decreased from 15% to just 10%, meaning the vast majority of working class Britons would keep 90% of their taxable income. But when we’re talking about ensuring working Briton’s can keep more of what they earn, the discussion has to go beyond pay packets and taxes. I want to revolutionize capitalism here in Britain, and fully realize our national identity as a property owning, shareholding democracy. That’s why I’ll pass legislation that provides a statutory guarantee that the workers in privatized industries have the first right to purchase shares in their company, and to do so at a discounted rate. That’s also why I’ll revitalize Right to Buy, preparing it for the 21st century by building more homes and working with lenders to ensure aspirational young people and families have the support they need to purchase their first home. I want to enable the British people to invest in Britain, to become part owners in our nation’s collective success. That is what democratic capitalism truly means.
Second, I will seek to reduce the regulatory and tax burdens faced by entrepreneurs to unleash the full potential of British business. Our small businesses are the bedrock of the British economy; they employ millions of people, generate massive amounts of revenue, and ship goods to consumers all around the world. As Prime Minister I will introduce a new band of corporation tax in the upcoming Spring Budget, providing a lower rate of tax specifically for small businesses. Entrepreneurial individuals and families should have a Government that works with them to support their business, not against them. I will ensure that young people, families, and especially women entrepreneurs starting their small business have an ally in 10 Downing. I’ll introduce a new tax incentive that provides a monetary reward to businesses that hire back employees that were laid off as a result of the global recession, ensuring that this country comes back stronger than ever before. And I’ll create the Regulatory Removal Working Group, a team of experts housed out of Number 10 tasked solely with identifying burdensome regulations that can then be altered or repealed entirely. British businesses, especially small businesses, need a Prime Minister that is going to work with them to identify existing challenges and opportunities that lay ahead as we enter the new millennium. I will be that Prime Minister.
Finally, I will endeavour to strengthen freedom of choice in this country so that individuals and families are truly their own masters. Adam Smith understood that only the most arrogant statesman assumes he knows better than his constituents do when it comes to how one should live their lives. As champions of liberty we should reject the state’s ability to dictate or influence decisions made by individuals, and should refuse the suggestion that Governments should play the role of nanny in the lives of its people. As Prime Minister I will endeavor to put action behind the Conservative Party’s previous commitments of supporting school choice, by supporting more Grammar Schools and guaranteeing that parents are in control of where their children go to school. I’ll defend and expand your right to use your own money how you please, including spending it on private healthcare, while safeguarding the NHS as the backbone of the British social safety net. And I will scrap sin taxes on alcohol all together, and begin ridding ourselves of the backwards notion that in Britain the role of the state is to influence “good behavior.” The only good thing Government has ever done, ladies and gentlemen, is get out of the way.
Now freedom, social and economic, is not just the right of the British people, but indeed the inheritance of all free peoples around the world. I believe Britain should unapologetically work for the rights of all persons to experience and live in freedom, because a world free from tyranny is better for everyone. When Adam Smith spoke about the natural rights of man, he wasn’t suggesting that those rights are only to be enjoyed by his fellow countrymen. They should be fully realized for all people, wherever they live. As Prime Minister I will make a concerted effort to use Britain’s moral leadership to expand freedom, free markets, and the free exchange of ideas around the globe. I will personally visit the recently freed, and soon to be freed, Eastern European nations and commit to them in person Britain’s unwavering support for their right to enjoy the fruits of their efforts. I want to export the value of economic freedom we have cultivated here in Britain around the globe, and utilize our leverage as a global super power to expand the free market’s reach around the world.
I believe that when people are free to choose, they choose freedom. History has proven this to be the case time and time again. It happened here in Britain in 1979, and I am confident it will happen once more in 1992. I am confident because I know that the case I will make as Prime Minister about the value and moral good inherent in capitalism will resonate with the British people. I am confident that this enterprising, self-reliant nation of explorers and traders will use their vote to safeguard their God given right to keep what they earn, grow their business and protect their freedom of choice. I will spend the next 100 days, and the entirety of the general election campaign, reinvigorating the age old tradition of British capitalism and economic freedom. And in doing so, I will make a plain, direct, and unapologetic appeal to the British people to protect their freedoms and safeguard their prosperity by giving my party a 4th term in office.
It has been a true pleasure to speak with you tonight, thank you all very much, and may have you all have a wonderful night.
It is such a privilege to be here with you all this evening, speaking at one of Britain’s preeminent think tanks and to an audience full of true advocates for the free market. I am confident that your namesake would be proud of the country we have become; a free, prosperous, enterprising nation of individuals and entrepreneurs utilizing the free market to better themselves and British society. Yes, I truly believe that Adam Smith would be pleased to see that we have taken many of his lessons to heart, and forged a nation and an economy that aligns with many of his writings about the free market and capitalism.
But I also believe Smith would be the first to remind us not to get complacent. The business of establishing and maintaining freedom is hard work, and yet allowing coercive forces to erode our freedom is quite easy. We must be vigilant, therefore, in committing ourselves to Adam Smith’s worldview, and modernizing his lessons in order to create a more justice, fair, and free society. With a Labour Party that is fundamentally opposed to the free market, this mission has become all the more important. As champions of capitalism, we must work overtime to make the case to the British people that capitalism remains fit for purpose in contemporary Britain.
I want to be this country’s next Prime Minister to make that case to the British people, and to do so by offering a candid argument about the need for freedom. The central creed of my Government’s advocacy for economic freedom will be simple: people must be free to keep what they earn, to grow their own businesses, and to chart their own destiny. Only by empowering the individual, and by removing the meddling hand of the state from their lives, can we truly build a meritocratic society that values work ethic and effort. As Prime Minister, I will spend every day of my time in office following my central creed that I’ve laid out, turning my words into action in order to build an economy where every British person can lift themselves and their families up by their own hard work. Here’s how I’ll do it.
First, I will pursue an economic agenda that puts more money into the pockets of individuals and families, empowering British workers to keep more of what they earn. A simple fact that socialists still refuse to accept is this: people know how to spend their money better than the state can for them. That’s why I’ll keep income taxes low, with a goal to raise the threshold for which taxes on income begins, and to reduce direct taxes through successive budgets. Over the life of the next Parliament I want to see the new introductory base rate of income tax decreased from 15% to just 10%, meaning the vast majority of working class Britons would keep 90% of their taxable income. But when we’re talking about ensuring working Briton’s can keep more of what they earn, the discussion has to go beyond pay packets and taxes. I want to revolutionize capitalism here in Britain, and fully realize our national identity as a property owning, shareholding democracy. That’s why I’ll pass legislation that provides a statutory guarantee that the workers in privatized industries have the first right to purchase shares in their company, and to do so at a discounted rate. That’s also why I’ll revitalize Right to Buy, preparing it for the 21st century by building more homes and working with lenders to ensure aspirational young people and families have the support they need to purchase their first home. I want to enable the British people to invest in Britain, to become part owners in our nation’s collective success. That is what democratic capitalism truly means.
Second, I will seek to reduce the regulatory and tax burdens faced by entrepreneurs to unleash the full potential of British business. Our small businesses are the bedrock of the British economy; they employ millions of people, generate massive amounts of revenue, and ship goods to consumers all around the world. As Prime Minister I will introduce a new band of corporation tax in the upcoming Spring Budget, providing a lower rate of tax specifically for small businesses. Entrepreneurial individuals and families should have a Government that works with them to support their business, not against them. I will ensure that young people, families, and especially women entrepreneurs starting their small business have an ally in 10 Downing. I’ll introduce a new tax incentive that provides a monetary reward to businesses that hire back employees that were laid off as a result of the global recession, ensuring that this country comes back stronger than ever before. And I’ll create the Regulatory Removal Working Group, a team of experts housed out of Number 10 tasked solely with identifying burdensome regulations that can then be altered or repealed entirely. British businesses, especially small businesses, need a Prime Minister that is going to work with them to identify existing challenges and opportunities that lay ahead as we enter the new millennium. I will be that Prime Minister.
Finally, I will endeavour to strengthen freedom of choice in this country so that individuals and families are truly their own masters. Adam Smith understood that only the most arrogant statesman assumes he knows better than his constituents do when it comes to how one should live their lives. As champions of liberty we should reject the state’s ability to dictate or influence decisions made by individuals, and should refuse the suggestion that Governments should play the role of nanny in the lives of its people. As Prime Minister I will endeavor to put action behind the Conservative Party’s previous commitments of supporting school choice, by supporting more Grammar Schools and guaranteeing that parents are in control of where their children go to school. I’ll defend and expand your right to use your own money how you please, including spending it on private healthcare, while safeguarding the NHS as the backbone of the British social safety net. And I will scrap sin taxes on alcohol all together, and begin ridding ourselves of the backwards notion that in Britain the role of the state is to influence “good behavior.” The only good thing Government has ever done, ladies and gentlemen, is get out of the way.
Now freedom, social and economic, is not just the right of the British people, but indeed the inheritance of all free peoples around the world. I believe Britain should unapologetically work for the rights of all persons to experience and live in freedom, because a world free from tyranny is better for everyone. When Adam Smith spoke about the natural rights of man, he wasn’t suggesting that those rights are only to be enjoyed by his fellow countrymen. They should be fully realized for all people, wherever they live. As Prime Minister I will make a concerted effort to use Britain’s moral leadership to expand freedom, free markets, and the free exchange of ideas around the globe. I will personally visit the recently freed, and soon to be freed, Eastern European nations and commit to them in person Britain’s unwavering support for their right to enjoy the fruits of their efforts. I want to export the value of economic freedom we have cultivated here in Britain around the globe, and utilize our leverage as a global super power to expand the free market’s reach around the world.
I believe that when people are free to choose, they choose freedom. History has proven this to be the case time and time again. It happened here in Britain in 1979, and I am confident it will happen once more in 1992. I am confident because I know that the case I will make as Prime Minister about the value and moral good inherent in capitalism will resonate with the British people. I am confident that this enterprising, self-reliant nation of explorers and traders will use their vote to safeguard their God given right to keep what they earn, grow their business and protect their freedom of choice. I will spend the next 100 days, and the entirety of the general election campaign, reinvigorating the age old tradition of British capitalism and economic freedom. And in doing so, I will make a plain, direct, and unapologetic appeal to the British people to protect their freedoms and safeguard their prosperity by giving my party a 4th term in office.
It has been a true pleasure to speak with you tonight, thank you all very much, and may have you all have a wonderful night.
