It's the Economy, Stupid

Not a blog post per sé, but please see below an official statement from the Ulster Conservatives and Unionists campaign in relation to comments made by David Cameron on Newsnight on Friday. He's absolutely right; our public sector is ridiculously bloated - this is why we'll cut corporation tax and make Northern Ireland an enterprise zone...

Northern Ireland deserves better than being on window-ledge of UK economy

Conservatives and Unionists Newry & Armagh candidate Danny Kennedy has strongly endorsed David Cameron's call for action to grow the private sector in Northern Ireland and other regional economies across the United Kingdom.

Danny Kennedy said, "We unreservedly welcome David Cameron's commitment to grow the private sector in Northern Ireland. This is an economic imperative. Other political parties and leading economists have said this time and again. And it is the central objective of the devolved Executive's Programme for Government.

"We will not take lectures on this matter from a Labour government that declares itself 'neutral' on the matter of the Union, which has presided over the worst recession since the 1930s and which has created the largest ever peacetime deficit in British history. This government has absolutely zero moral authority on economic matters.

"Unlike others, however, Conservatives and Unionists will not merely talk about growing the private sector. A Conservative and Unionist government will be committed to delivering. By stopping Labour's job tax (Brown's planned rise in National Insurance), reducing corporation tax across the UK, bringing forward plans for the mechanism to reduce corporation tax further in Northern Ireland, and exempting from National Insurance the first 10 new employees in new companies during the first 2 years of a Conservative and Unionist government, we will get the United Kingdom working again, unleashing the spirit of enterprise that creates jobs and encourages innovation. This includes Northern Ireland. Unlike others, we are not prepared to see Northern Ireland relegated to the window-ledge of the UK economy.

"David Cameron has set an ambitious goal for a Conservative and Unionist government - to see the economies of Northern Ireland and other regions, such as the north-east of England, flourishing as the private sector grows. This ambition is shared by the people of Northern Ireland, who want to see jobs, opportunity and enterprise in this part of the United Kingdom. This is the agenda which the people of Northern Ireland can support on 6th May by voting Conservatives and Unionists"