A NEW DEAL
Boris Johnson vows ‘Roosevelt’ style plan to get UK back on track from coronavirus – but warns of ‘bumpy times’
BORIS Johnson has promised a new 'Roosevelt' style deal to pull Britain out of the coronavirus crisis with a massive plan for investment.
The PM insisted he wanted the country to "bounce forward" with a brave new plan for the country, just like the ex-US President did in the 1930s after the Great Depression.
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Speaking to this morning, the PM stressed there would be more money into education and new hospitals, adding: "I think this is the moment for a 'Rooseveltian' approach to the UK."
He told the new radio station on its launch day: "This has been an absolute nightmare for the country, it's gone through a profound shock.
"But in those moments you have an opportunity to change and do things better.
"Transport, broadband, you name it."
The PM is to deliver a major speech in Dudley tomorrow outlining his bold new vision to get Britain back on track.
The investment would "pay off", he vowed, but there would be tough times ahead.
"It's going to be tough to come through this," he said.
"We’ve had 8million people furloughed.
"We’ve seen a big fall in our GDP and everyone understands there will be some bumpy times."
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What was Roosevelt's New Deal?
THE New Deal was a huge package of economic support and programmes for America to get them back on track after the Great Depression.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt put them in place between 1933 and 1939, and provided support for farmers, the unemployed, youth and the elderly.
It focused on relief, recovery and reform of the current system to pull it out of a huge recession.
There were new constraints and safeguards on the banking industry and efforts to re-inflate the economy after prices fell drastically.
It was such a success he went on to push a Second New Deal for the country later on - although this was seen as more liberal and divided opinion.
He also said today:
- It would be a "mistake" to return to the days of austerity
- Britain will be put on a diet to get fighting fit against future diseases as we are fatter than other countries
- He admitted that "some things went wrong" but didn't go into detail on any regrets
Boris said: "In the end, what you can’t do at this moment is go back to what people called austerity.
"That would be a mistake."
He later went on to visit a school in West London to promote his plans to pump £1billion into new schools and upgrades in the next ten years.
He told Sky News: "This initial chunk for the 50 schools is just for the beginning - we are conscious of the need to refurbish and repair.
"We see the advantage of putting in long term investment for the country, but also driving jobs creation now."
The Government will push an "activist, interventionist approach" to getting Britain back on its feet again, he said.
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"We will be very prudent with the public finances" he promised, but vowed to get businesses to invest again.
"There is a lot of cash that businesses are sitting on, we want to see that cash coming into the economy too," he added.
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