The government increasingly resembles somebody who is trying to give the kiss of life to a corpse.

I am a bit of a lefty on some issues.

So I went into government with a clear mind about what the problems were, and what needed to be done.

Our workforce is very co-operative, very flexible, easy to work with and one of the big selling points. The idea that Britain is still back in the labour market of the '70s is utterly bizarre.

We need a new British business bank with a clean balance sheet and an ability to expand lending rapidly to the manufacturers, exporters and high-growth companies that power our economy. Today I can announce we will have one.

Where there is flagrant abuse of corporate entities we must and will seek to tackle it.

The degree of leverage now being reversed is on a staggering scale, and the underlying global imbalances – notably between the savers and the spenders – will require long and painful adjustment.