BoJo Pledges ‘Infrastructure Revolution’ in Roosevelt-Style New Deal to Boost Post-Pandemic Recovery

0
303

BoJo Pledges 'Infrastructure Revolution' in Roosevelt-Style New Deal to Boost Post-Pandemic Recovery

The day before, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated that his government will “not go back to the austerity of 10 years ago”, vowing that the UK would “bounce back” from the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at a college in the central English town of Dudley on Tuesday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled what has already been referred to as a Roosevelt-style ‘New Deal’, promising to give the British economy a boost after it emerges from the coronavirus-induced crisis.

The prime minister further stated that Britain must seize the moment to fix decades-old problems and narrow the productivity gap with its competitors.

The PM pointed out that Britain was not as productive as many of its competitors, and though London was the “capital of the world”, much of the country felt left behind.

As Johnson unveiled a £5billion package of investment in schools, hospitals roads and other major schemes, he pledged to build more houses as part of what he described as an “infrastructure revolution” to get Britain’s economy going again after the pandemic.

During the speech, Johnson admitted, however, that “mistakes” had been made in the UK’s response to the coronavirus, adding that some parts of the government were “so sluggish” amid the pandemic.

With a promise to “build, build, build” to kickstart the economy, Johnson compared the government’s impending strategy with the “New Deal” programmes led by former US President Franklin D Roosevelt, which capitalised on government spending to resurrect America from the worst economic crisis in its history during the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Labour Party on Johnson’s Speech

Shortly after Johnson’s address, the Labour party leader, Keir Starmer, stated that “there’s not much that is new” in the proposed deal. The official also added that the furlough scheme should be extended where it’s needed to preserve jobs

Johnson’s Tuesday speech comes as the country has been allocating billions of pounds of investment towards building and refurbishing schools, hospitals and roads, as well as new spending on transport and local growth projects.

On the eve of his much-hyped address, Johnson told The Mail on Sunday that his government would not “go back to what people called austerity”, imposed by the Conservative Party after the 2008 financial crisis.

The UK has started to lift lockdown restrictions that were imposed back in March with pubs, restaurants, hotels and many other businesses being allowed to receive customers starting from 4 July.

Sourse: sputniknews.com

BoJo Pledges ‘Infrastructure Revolution’ in Roosevelt-Style New Deal to Boost Post-Pandemic Recovery

0.00 (0%) 0 votes