'Here's the cash, use it'
The chancellor also said he wanted to double the UK's annual economic growth to between 2.7 and 2.8%. However, the outgoing governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, told the Financial Times last week he thought the UK's trend growth rate was much lower, at between 1 and 1.5%. Mr Javid said the extra growth would come from spending on skills and infrastructure in the Midlands and the north of England - even if they did not offer as much "bang for the buck" as projects in other parts of the country. Historically low interest rates, which allow the government to borrow money relatively cheaply, were "almost a signal to me from the market - from investors - that here's the cash, use it to do something productive", Mr Javid said. He pledged to rewrite Treasury investment rules, which have tended to favour government investment in places with high economic growth and high productivity. Mr Javid said the rules had helped to "entrench" inequality and insisted weaker parts of the country would have first call on the new money. In November, the Bank of England said a weaker global economy and its new assumptions about Brexit would knock 1% off UK growth over the next three years compared with its previous August forecast.DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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