End of Year Message from David Cameron
With New Year around the corner, it’s time to take stock of where we have been as a country – and where we’re going.
Looking back over 2011, I believe Britain showed the world three things. By taking a lead in Libya and helping rid that country of a brutal dictator, we showed a country that does not walk on by while others suffer. By starting to deal with our debts while economic storms raged in Europe, we showed we have the resolve to get to grips with the problems that have been holding us back. And by going all out to celebrate the Royal Wedding, from street parties in West Oxfordshire to flag-waving crowds in central London, we showed there is a huge current of national pride running through this country.
I want us to build on that spirit in 2012. I won’t deny that we are in difficult times. In the West, major economies are all struggling. The crisis in Europe is having a chilling effect on our own economy, and at home, many people have worries about paying the bills and finding work. I understand why some might think next year is one to hunker down, retreat from the world and hope for the best, but I passionately believe the opposite is true: that 2012 must be a year of bold action and positive engagement for our country.
In the Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee we have two massive opportunities to show the world what we are made of – and the coalition I lead is determined to make the most of them by being firm where we need to be, and bold where we’ve got to be.
On dealing with our debts and re-building our economy, we must stick firm to the course we are on. We must never forget that if we had failed to get a grip and show that we had a sensible plan to sort out the public finances, we could have been facing the same miseries they’re suffering in parts of the continent, with high interest rates and endless uncertainty. It’s because we acted that Britain is now seen as something of a safe haven in the storm – so we must stick firm to the course in 2012.
But where we’ve got to be bold, we will be. I don’t want this government just to be remembered for sorting out the public finances. I want us to be remembered for injecting dynamism into our economy, which is why we’re pressing ahead with major plans to build better roads and railways and thousands of new homes, as well as cutting corporation tax and red tape. I want us to be respected for finally sorting out the welfare system, so that it rewards hard work and gives help only to those who genuinely need it. I want this government to have a radical impact on our schools system too, bringing discipline, excellence and achievement in right across education, and sweeping away all the old excuses for failure.
All these efforts to re-build and transform our country are going to be accelerated in 2012. But as confident as I am in our plans, I know we’ve got to do this together. Turning this country around has got to be a vast team effort, by the entrepreneurs employing people, the doctors and police officers freed from red tape to do the job they signed up for, the grafters who get our economy up to strength, the volunteers who strengthen our communities, the waiters and bus drivers who present a friendly face to Olympics visitors: all of us.
I have endless belief in the character and talents of the British people – and I know that if we work together, and make this effort together, then we can make 2012 a great year in our history.
