Selby Times February 2025

Keir Mather MP: What ‘growth’ means for us

Last month, the Chancellor unveiled the next steps forward in the Government’s plan for economic growth. Kickstarting growth is the number one mission of this Government, so I thought I would use my column in this month’s paper to explain why the sometimes-remote concept of ‘growth’ is so central to unlocking future success for Selby, Yorkshire, and Britain.

Since the financial crash of 2008, our economy has flatlined. Productivity, growth and living standards have stagnated, and British people have suffered as a result. In real terms, this economic stagnation has meant that people here in Selby are no better off than they were in 2008, when John Grogan served as our town’s MP, the tarmac on the Selby bypass was still relatively fresh, and the New Selby War Memorial Hospital was still in its inception stage.

This stagnation doesn’t just mean that we have less in our pockets at the end of the month, that our pound buys us less when we holiday abroad, or that we’re more susceptible to energy shocks. It also means that we are less well equipped to be able to invest in crucial public services and that younger generations, stuck in insecure rentals or living at home with their parents, are unable to start families of their own – further contributing to our nation’s challenges.

We are right to view the scale of this economic challenge as one of the greatest in modern times. Not only are we confronting the same hurdles as previous Governments, but we now face the further challenge of high interest rates, caused by international volatility, which make borrowing to invest incredibly expensive.

People are feeling this economic hardship where it matters, their wallets. High interest rates and low growth aren’t just percentages plotted by economics gurus in London. The toxic cocktail of high rates, low productivity and sluggish growth are the reasons why in recent years your mortgage payments have increased, your business can’t afford to borrow from a bank to grow and invest for the future, and why the public services we all use are in a state of such disrepair. Taken together, these factors make for a less dynamic economy, making it almost impossible to stimulate economic growth and make Britain wealthier.

Reading the above, we’d all be forgiven for thinking that the prognosis for Britain is a little bit grim. I’m well aware that the last thing people want here in Selby are further excuses about the failings of previous governments, or politicians failing to recognise why we are now required to tackle some incredibly difficult trade-offs head on. What I want you to know is that this Government is going for growth because we want to put more money in your pocket, and this will be at the heart of all the decisions we take.

To get the economy moving and to make people across Selby feel wealthier is no mean feat, and it certainly won’t happen overnight. Our plan for economic growth is built around three essential elements of stability, investment and reform. We will not shy away from the tough choices that will get us to growth. The Autumn Budget was an important step – it put our public finances back on a stable footing, allowing the Chancellor to invest in meaningful changes to cut waiting lists and get people back into work.

Finally, I know that there has been some discussion about the focus of recent announcements on London and the South East, particularly on Heathrow and the Oxford – Cambridge Growth Corridor. I support those decisions, because they focus on areas where we are already world leading, and have the potential to add enormous value to our economy, the impact of which will be felt far more widely than in just the South East. However, my approach will always be that Britain’s potential to be world-leading is by no means limited to London and the South East, and I have every confidence that the Government shares this conviction to increase prosperity in every part of the UK, including our town of Selby.

Here in Selby, we don’t need to look much further for evidence of our enormous potential than our incredible industrial heritage, as shipbuilders, energy producers, exporters, agriculturalists or manufacturers. If we foster the right economic conditions, we have a generational chance to seize the defining opportunities of the twenty-first century, to bridge the gap between our allies in Europe and in the United States, and, fundamentally, to rebuild Britain as a country where prosperity is not the preserve of a privileged few, but is attainable for any individual who is willing to work hard.