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布莱尔首相演讲:The Pre-Budget Report

时间:2007-06-19 08:04:05

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Prime Minister's broadcast 10 November 2000 - Pre-Budget Report

If your home or business is flooded, or your journey to work badly disrupted because of floods or work on the railways, it's not been a pleasant time.

I saw for myself last week the devastation1 caused by the flooding. But few people would have thought that a week later the floods would, in many places, be getting worse.

We will, as I promised, do all we can to help both in the short-term and long-term.

And although I realise it will be scant2 comfort to those waiting to clear out water from their living room, it's the long-term - what I call the big picture - I want to talk about today.

I've always said that the Government is dedicated3 to the long-term. Determined4 to take the long-term steps needed to build a better future for people.

It's what I mean by concentrating on that big picture - on the economy, on jobs, on investment, on public services. The fundamentals, if you like.

So of course no Government's perfect and we haven't got everything right. But on the big things, these fundamentals, I believe we are moving in the right direction.

Gordon Brown's pre-budget statement demonstrated what I meant. The economy he could describe - an economy of low inflation, low interest rates, debt being repaid, record employment levels may be taken for granted now.

But you only have to look back a few years - less than a decade - to a time when the exact opposite of all this was true in Britain. To a time, when for instance, when interest rates were at 15% for a whole year.

I heard someone complain that Gordon's statement did a lot for pensioners5 but nothing for the middle classes.

Now leave aside the fact that many pensioners are middle class or that I suspect almost everyone believes poorer pensioners deserve more help.

It also ignores the fact that it is homeowners who are benefiting from low interest rates because of the decisions taken.

Now this webcast is not the time to repeat Gordon's statement but one figure shows just how much has changed - and how much we could lose if we repeat the mistakes of the past.

Over the last two decades, 42 p of every pound of Government revenue - that's your money - went on paying back interest on Government debts or on social security. In fact in the early nineties, the figure reached 50p in every pound.

But now, because so many more people are in work and because so much of the debt has been paid off, that figure has fallen from 42p to 17p.

So it means more than 80p in every pound can now be spent on our hospitals, schools and vital services, not wasted on debt repayments6. Money at last which will allow us to tackle the long-term under-investment in Britain.

And this hard-won economic stability is also enabling us to pay off some of the debts of honour our country owes.

Last week, I talked to some of Britain's Far East Prisoners of War. They suffered terribly so future generations could enjoy peace and freedom. For many of them, the scars, emotional as well as physical, will never heal.

So I was pleased, that after many years, we could offer them some compensation for their sacrifice and pain. It was an obligation met if you like.

And I was pleased, too, that Gordon could announce the package of real help for all our pensioners. It's another debt, at least, partially7 repaid.

But that help for pensioners - and our determination not to risk the hard-won economic stability we have worked so hard to build - meant, of course, that those who wanted dramatic cuts in fuel duty will have been disappointed.

Now I believe the package of help for motorists - and for the haulage and farming industry - did show that we have genuinely listened to concerns about the high cost of motoring.

I believe we did what we can - what a responsible Government looking at the long-term interests of the country could responsibly do.

And of course it won't satisfy everyone. It certainly won't satisfy those who want a 26p cut in fuel duty.

But in the end, Government is about making choices. It's about making decisions, sticking to them for the long term, even if they are unpopular in the short term.

And I hope that on the things that really matter to the long-term future and prosperity of our country - on the economy, jobs, investment, public services - the right choices we've made far out-number any wrong ones.


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1 devastation ku9zlF     
n.毁坏;荒废;极度震惊或悲伤
参考例句:
  • The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
  • There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
2 scant 2Dwzx     
adj.不充分的,不足的;v.减缩,限制,忽略
参考例句:
  • Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
  • Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候,许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。
3 dedicated duHzy2     
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的
参考例句:
  • He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
  • His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
4 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
5 pensioners 688c361eca60974e5ceff4190b75ee1c     
n.领取退休、养老金或抚恤金的人( pensioner的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He intends to redistribute income from the middle class to poorer paid employees and pensioners. 他意图把中产阶级到低薪雇员和退休人员的收入做重新分配。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • I am myself one of the pensioners upon the fund left by our noble benefactor. 我自己就是一个我们的高贵的施主遗留基金的养老金领取者。 来自辞典例句
6 repayments f8b697bfb3107d78e4b040d051ee8608     
偿还,报答,偿付的钱物( repayment的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The repayments of the loan are spread over 10 years. 贷款可在十年内分期偿还。
  • The repayments of the loan are spread over 25 years. 这笔贷款分摊二十五年偿还。
7 partially yL7xm     
adv.部分地,从某些方面讲
参考例句:
  • The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
  • The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静,宵禁部分解除。

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