Sajid Javid blasts 'same Old Labour' in pro-business Conservative conference address [Full Speech]

In the last government, we set and met a target....

...... to create 2 million new apprenticeships.

And now, we've gone further.

We want to see another 3 million.

And you have just seen why.

Our targets are not just numbers.

Our targets are people.

Like Josh, the young man we saw on stage this morning.

Someone filled with drive, dedication and determination.

The sort of person that this One Nation government is unashamedly on the side of.......

......and always will be.

It's been nearly 20 years since the last Conservative Secretary of State left the DTI.

Two decades of countless Labour ministers.

Two decades of numerous re-brands and name changes....

.... from the DTI, to BERR to BIS.

And at one point....rather appropriately...

.....it was even called dippy.

Two decades of side lining and marginalising business....

....including 5 years of Vince Cable.

And believe me.....

.....that was more than enough!

And so.....

.....after nearly 20 years....

.....I am very proud to be able to say....

Thatcher back on the wall

The Conservatives are back in business.

And my portrait of Mrs Thatcher is back on the wall!

I'm sure she'd approve of my incredibly talented team of ministers: Anna Soubry, Francis Maude, Jo Johnson, Nick Boles, Ed Vaizey, Lucy Neville-Rolfe & George Freeman.

In the run up to the election....

.....Britain's businesses knew....

.....there was only one Party that backed them....

....one Party who understood their needs...

....and one Party that had a long term plan.

They knew that only the Conservatives could be trusted with the economy.

And they knew that a Conservative Government would not fix their prices....

....strangle them in red tape....

.....or bury them under a mountain of public debt.

Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur....

.....a small start-up...

.....or a British multi-national....

.... we are very definitely on your side.

We are the only Party....

..... that really values open markets and free enterprise.

We are the only Party that supports business to...

....help our economy grow...

....let our people develop....

....and make our country flourish.

When you back business...

.... you back Britain!

'One Nation Government'

Now, I'm about to say something that is said too rarely by politicians..

For the faith you put in us at the election....

....for your faith in our determination....

....to keep Britain on the road to recovery....

....thank you British business...

But business is just the beginning.

This One Nation Government is on the side of working people too.

We understand the dignity of work...

....the security of a pay packet...

....the urge that people have....

....to get up and get on.

We are the Party...

.... that has put money back in people's pockets....

..... by cutting their income tax bills.

We are the Party that has presided over a jobs miracle....

....helping to create more jobs in Britain over 5 years....

.... than the rest of the EU put together.

And we are the Party....

.... that has ensured that Britain gets a pay rise....

..... through the National Living Wage.

And while we have been delivering something new for the British worker....

The Labour Party has been just as busy.....

.....being the Same Old Labour.

Electing a leadership that believes in division not unity.

That sets workers against businesses.

That fights class war....

But won't talk about competing on the global stage.

Labour is still stuck with thinking that......

....businesses are the bad guys!

They haven't learned their lesson.

They were rejected by the British people.

But they stick to their dogmatic ideology....

.... an ideology that ignores the needs of the country....

.... and pulls people down....

.... rather than raising them up.

'The Labour risk'

The new team at the top of Labour....

.... will risk everything we have worked so hard to achieve.

Their policies to borrow more...

.... print money

.... re-nationalise industry

.... and put up taxes

..... would wreck our economy.

It would weaken our nation's defences... ...damage our NHS...

.... and hurt working people....

....with the poorest hit the most.

Let us send out the message loud and clear....

....Labour are a threat to our....

....national security....

....our economic security....

....and the security of every family in Britain.

We will not let them wreck our country!

We are the Party that says...

....if you start from nothing....

....and build something....

....that provides employment and security for tens,...

...hundreds,

....or even thousands of people....

....you should be celebrated, not condemned.

The Party that says if you create jobs....

.... if you create wealth...

...you're not a class traitor....

...or a parasite....

....or an enemy of the people.

You are a force for good.

And it's not just business that Labour has a problem with.

Labour's failed system of corporate welfare kept wages down.

It watched while workers sank into welfare.

It failed working people.

'Party of working people'

So I have a message for the Labour Party today:

The Party of working people....

....is the Conservative Party.

In fact, we are the only party for working people.

And you'd better get used to it!

Now... there are those from Labour who describe me as a class traitor.

Len McCluskey says I'm a vampire.... ...sucking the life from worker's rights.

And he says this because we promised trade union reform in our manifesto.....

....a manifesto that won us a clear majority at the election.

But despite that, the Labour Party and its union paymasters...

.....call the Bill "undemocratic".

They wrongly say that it's an assault on millions of working people.

But they ignore the fact....

.....that the action of some unions.....

.....is an assault on the lives of many millions more!

They say they're standing up for workers....

.... even as working parents...

.... are forced to lose a day's pay...

.... when their children's schools don't open....

.....or have no transport to take them to work.

They call it an attack on their right to strike....

....even as they use a tiny mandate...

....to attack other people's right to work.

For too long, trade unions have been able to bully working people by striking.....

....even though only a small number of their members have voted for strike action.

So we are introducing new laws....

.... to ensure working people's lives aren't unfairly disrupted.

If Red Len's best defence is to call me a class traitor,...

....then I know...

.... what we're doing....

.... is absolutely right!

Like our renegotiation in Europe to ensure it gives us what we need.

And that means much less red tape.....

.....and much less "Brussels knows best".

I want to see a European Union....

....that spends less time telling businesses what to do....

.....and more time on delivering growth, trade deals and a thriving single market....

....a single market that works for Britain.

We have a once in a generation chance to re-negotiate....

.....and help re-shape Europe.

We must make the most of this chance.

Our message could not be clearer.

We will re-negotiate....

....and give the British People...

...the Right to Decide.

I started my life living above the family shop.

Business has always been part of my life.

I've seen how the family mood changes...

...depending on the day's takings.

I've seen how companies need finance to realise their potential.

I know how hard it can be to set up and to succeed in business.

Every time that someone takes the courageous decision....

... to start their own company...

....the whole of society benefits.

That is why I'm a Conservative.

We are the Party for the innovators and the job creators....

....for the entrepreneurs and the risk-takers.

We are the Party for the people raising their kids in the flat above the family shop.

For the people who register a company at the kitchen table....

..... and dream of taking on the world.

And that is why I am shamelessly pro-business.

But, being pro-business does not mean that you turn a blind eye to bad practice.

Whether you're a bank rigging interest rates....

.... a car manufacturer cheating on emissions...

... or a company not paying your fair share of tax....

.... be warned....

.... we will come after you.

Because free enterprise is not a free-for-all.

My aim is simple.

My department will back business to be the best it can be.

We will deregulate.

We will keep taxes low.

We will boost trade and exports.

We will continue to attract inward investment.

We will deliver more help for start-ups.

We will back British entrepreneurs.

....I'm proud to be part of a government.....

....that's standing up and taking action.

A government standing up to Bureaucracy.

Standing up to Brussels.

Standing up for Business.

And standing up....

...... for Britain.