Recognise the spirit of enterprise

TODAY the world's top business leaders are in London. Together - Government and business - we will address the challenges and opportunities facing Britain in the new global economy.

There is a real opportunity for Britain. If this country is to achieve its full potential, Government and business must work constructively and creatively together.

I want Britain - the Great Britain that led the industrial revolution - to be truly recognised as one of the great enterprise centres of this new global era.

The challenges of the advancing technologies are formidable. Up to five million British, European and American jobs today could end up outsourced to countries like China and India.

Within 20 years half the world's manufactured exports - from cars and clothes to computers and microchips - may be produced in low wage developing countries outside Europe, Japan and America. China and India could be challenging to become the world's number two and three economies.

But with new challenges come new opportunities too. And Britain - the Great Britain whose spirit of enterprise was forged in invention after invention in the first industrial era - faces the future with truly powerful assets and advantages.

Today, with just 1% of the world's population, Britain, the pioneer of free trade, trades more widely across all parts of the world than any other nation on earth.

Our language is the language of the modern world, Internet and business everywhere. The British steam engine, TV and telephone changed the course of history.

But even today British breakthroughs from the Internet to the human genome project are transforming the whole world's future.

Britain has more Nobel Prize winners in science than anyone except the US. And we have a new-found and hard-won advantage that makes others envious - our economic stability. Britain's is the only major economy to escape the recent world recession.

Britain's assets

ONCE the boom and bust economy of the industrialised world, Britain is now the most stable economy of the last six years. With Bank of England independence, low debt and tough fiscal rules, our stability is being entrenched for the longer term.

These assets - global reach, strength in science and stability - are the foundation for world success.

And, building from this platform, we must put in place the next element - the crucial and decisive ingredient for future British success: a shared national commitment to enterprise and wealth creation, and a determination to remove, one by one, all the barriers in its way.

With around 100,000 more companies since 1997, and many more people now wanting to start businesses, Britain is becoming more enterprising. But we must go further still to catch up with America.

Today Patricia Hewitt and I will announce our plan to make Britain a scientific powerhouse of the 21st century.

Charles Clarke and I will announce how Tuesday's much-needed reform of university finance - which all Labour MPs should support - is another vital step to make ours the best skilled and educated workforce in Europe.

Hard decisions will be made in our spending review to focus on these priorities - science, education and infrastructure - if we are to meet the global challenge.

With stamp duty abolished and fast-track planning permission in 2,000 enterprise areas, we are determined that even high unemployment areas can enjoy an enterprise renaissance.

And, just as we have already cut long-term capital gains tax and reduced small business and corporation tax, we must continue to reward entrepreneurship, and encourage better business and investment.

And we want to break down all the barriers that thwart such success.

Today I am asking European finance ministers to help us tackle regulations from Brussels that hamper our firms.

In Europe, we will push the rights of British firms to compete fairly for their share of European markets. And in world talks, we will demand Europe and America break down the barriers to trade creating business worth $ 100bn and a million new jobs.

Step by step, area by area, we are transforming our enterprise culture - ensuring there is no no-go area for enterprise in any part of Britain. Gone for ever must be the days of sheltering uncompetitive industries. Gone for ever, too, must be the old cynicism, complacency and them-and-us confrontation culture.

Instead we should celebrate the entrepreneur, opening up enterprise to everyone who works hard and has the talent.

On July 14 the Queen and members of the Royal Family will honour Britain's most outstanding enterprises, visiting them around Britain. We are discussing, too, how a new award for enterprise could reinforce the whole country's support for the best of British business.

Transatlantic forum

AND this November Britain will hold its first-ever national enterprise week. The best British city or town of enterprise will be honoured for the first time.

This summer, in a unique transatlantic forum, UK and US business leaders will be meeting to discuss how we continue to drive up productivity.

Young entrepreneurs from Britain will also meet and learn from rising stars in the U.S

Young managers from deprived areas will now have the chance of 'Greenspan' scholarships - named after Sir Alan Greenspan, Chairman of the US Federal Reserve - to study at US as well as British business schools.

For the first time all school pupils will, from 2005, have the opportunity to enjoy not just work experience but enterprise education.

For the sake of Britain's future I want every child enthused with the spirit of enterprise.

It is easily within our reach that anyone, whatever their background, should not just feel they could start up in business but also be better equipped to do so - in the same way that people in any business in any sector can feel they can increase the value of their contribution to their own company.

We rightly value our national sporting teams and stars as role models. We also have national business leaders and we should rightly value them too.

I want Britain to celebrate business success the way we rightly celebrated our Rugby World Cup victory.

So today's conference is about building the new Britain of enterprise and greater business success.

Britain always feels at its best when we are truly Great Britain. I want Britain to tell the world: the British spirit of enterprise is driving us forward, placing us at the very forefront for global success.