Cameron says Britain is "the jobs factory of Europe"

The Prime Minister David Cameron has today outlined the Conservative Party’s second general election manifesto theme – building a Britain with full employment – Mr Cameron announced what the Conservatives say are five clear commitments:

• Encourage enterprise and back small business, keeping jobs taxes low and cutting red tape
• Invest in infrastructure to attract business and good jobs across the whole of the UK
• Continue getting British people back to work by controlling immigration and delivering a robust welfare system for EU migrants
• Reward work, help people into a job and lower the benefit cap
• Create 3 million new apprenticeships so young people get the skills to succeed

He will also commit to tripling the number of Start-Up loans to at least 75,000 by the end of the next Parliament, meaning on current trends the scheme will have created at least 100,000 jobs by 2020.

The commitment to triple Start Up Loans, with at least £300m of loan capital being made available in the next Parliament, is a key part of the Conservatives’ long term economic plan. It will give at least 50,000 thousand more aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to follow their dream of running their own business, creating tens of thousands of new jobs in the process.

It comes as figures show that 25,000 Start Up Loans have been issued to date, creating an estimated 32,000 jobs and providing thousands of people with the security of a job and a regular wage. Almost half of the recipients of the loans were previously unemployed, more than a third live in the most deprived areas of the country and a quarter are from ethnic minority backgrounds.

David Cameron said: "Full employment may be an economic term, but this is what it means in human terms: it means more of our fellow men and women with the security of a regular wage; it means you, your family and your children having a job and getting on in life. We have had a tough few years as a country, but we are coming out the other side. We are the jobs factory of Europe; we’re creating more jobs here than the rest of Europe put together. That’s what our long-term plan means for you – and if you vote Conservative, we can stay on this road to recovery."

Speaking about the Start Up Loans Programme, the Tory leader added: "The Conservatives are the party of small businesses. We’re the party of the roofers and the retailers; the builders and the businesswomen. We’re the ones who back people who strike out on their own, take the risks, and create wealth and jobs in our country. These are people we admire and want to help. Other parties preach about this sort of stuff; but we’re the ones who really deliver. That’s why we began Start Up Loans – to help people with a smart idea make their first sale. And in the next Parliament, we’re going to treble it."

Responding to David Cameron's announcement the Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary, Rachel Reeves, said: "David Cameron’s talk of full employment will seem like empty words to working people after five years of talents wasted and opportunities denied. The Tories’ low wage economy has left millions of people stuck on low pay, or unable to get enough work to pay the bills. The average wage has fallen more than £1,600 per year, 3.5 million people want to work more hours, and the number of people paid less than a living wage has risen to nearly five million, driving up the benefits bill and leading to more Tory Welfare Waste. Meanwhile young people aren’t getting the support they need to make the most of their talents and help our country earn its way out of the cost-of-living crisis.

"A Labour government will support the creation of more good jobs by backing wealth-creating small businesses and will bring in a Compulsory Jobs Guarantee to get the long-term unemployed off benefits and into work. We will ban exploitative zero-hours contracts, boost apprenticeships, raise the minimum wage to £8 hour and get more workers paid a living wage."​ Ms Reeves added