David Cameron visited Poole today. He gave a speech on economic policy at Magna Academy in Canford Heath and then visited an affordable housing development at Carters Quay in Hamworthy. While here, he talked with Poole MP Robert Syms, Leader of the Council Elaine Atkinson and Deputy Leader Mike White.
At Magna Academy, the Prime Minister started with praise: “What sponsored academies like yours have achieved is one of the most important things happening under this government. You see results transformed, your see children's lives turned around, you see communities better served by schools like this. I want to congratulate the whole leadership here at the academy and also the students who work so hard. You have already seen your results go shooting up. I know you want them to go even further and I think you should be really proud of what you've achieved.”
The PM then outlined his economic views: “There is a simple choice at the next election: between competence and chaos. With our long-term economic plan, you get competence. Sound public finances and reducing the deficit are at the heart of our plan.
“Today we have published a new Charter for Budget Responsibility, which makes clear our commitment to making £30 billion of savings in the first two years of the next Parliament.
We have already cut the deficit in half, and now we have set out clear steps to finish the job. A Conservative Government will run a budget surplus by 2018/19. Continuing to borrow more indefinitely, to pile on the debt, would leave Britain completely unprepared should any crisis hit in the future. But that is exactly what Labour would do. Their plans involve running a budget deficit - permanently adding to the debt - every year. Indefinitely.
“According to Treasury analysis of the equivalent of Labour's policy, the national debt would be almost £500 billion bigger in 21 years' time. That would mean higher taxes on you, your family and on Britain's businesses. And it would mean under-funded public services - because you cannot have a strong NHS, strong schools, strong police forces, strong anything without a strong economy. The consequences of Labour's plans do not bear thinking about. They would lead to total and utter chaos.”
At Carters Quay, David Cameron toured a building site and inspected a model of the planned development for the site.
His words: “Many people in Poole and Dorset, young people working, want to buy their homes. So I think they'll welcome starter homes because this is bringing housing into a much more affordable way for people who have a job and can afford the mortgage payments. We're helping them get that mortgage now with the Help To Buy scheme because they don't need to get now the huge deposits that they did several years ago - and these starter homes will make the actual home you want to buy cheaper.”
Poole MP Robert Syms said: “There is a lot of potential housing development here, which gives us the chance to point out what the opportunities are as we have one or two grants in to unblock the development. This will hopefully lead to more homes, more jobs and more prosperity for Poole.”
Altogether, the PM's visit to Poole was a roaring success that shows how well our Conservative Government is serving both the nation and the people of Poole.