Britain must get on a war footing to fight foreign countries “after our jobs and our wealth”, Lord Heseltine of Thenford has said.
Presenting an official review of the economy, Lord Heseltine said the UK needs to “mobilise” against other countries “using every device to get a part of what we want”.
The Tory grandee’s report 89 recommendations to help Britain get back to strong growth, including a strong relationship with Europe, a quick decision about extra airports and a review of immigration regulations.
Speaking to the BBC’s Today Programme, he also said London has got “too powerful” and must hand money to regional cities if the UK is to become more competitive. This would involve drastically shrinking Whitehall and devolving billions of pounds of resources to cities around the country.
He said there is a “hunger” in the regions for more dynamism and encouragement of entrepreneurialism. The former Deputy Prime Minister’s report contains a stark warning that businesses fear “the UK does not have a strategy for growth and wealth creation”.
However, he argued his recommendations are simply constructive advice to David Cameron and George Osborne in the spirit of a “friend and supporter”, rather than undermining their strategy.