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Chancellor Rachel Reeves speech on plans for growth; ENGLAND: Oxfordshire: Eynsham: Siemens Healthineers:INTRachel Reeves MP (Chancellor) speech SOT** lectern reads 'Kickstart Economic Growth ** This strategy has three elements: First, stability in our politics, our public finances and our economy - the basic condition for secure economic growth. Second, reform - reform which makes it easier for businesses to trade, to raise finance and to build. And third, investment, the lifeblood of economic growth. Let me explain each of those in turn. Stability – the first line of our manifesto was a promise to bring stability to the public finances. It is the rock upon which everything else is built. And it is the essential foundation of our Plan for Change. Because economic stability is the precondition for economic growth. That’s why the first piece of legislation that we passed as a government was the Budget Responsibility Act… … so never again will we see our independent forecaster sidelined.[redacted political content]At my first Budget in October… … it was my duty as Chancellor… … to fix the foundations of our economy, and repair the public finances that we inherited. To restore stability and create the conditions for growth and investment. I set out new fiscal rules which are non-negotiable, and will always be met. We began to rebuild our NHS and our schools – the start of a programme of public service reform. I capped the rate of corporation tax - and I extended our generous capital allowances for the duration of this parliament - as the CBI and the BCC have long called for. And I protected working people after a cost of living crisis… … by freezing fuel duty… … and with no increases in their National Insurance, Income Tax or VAT. But taking the right decisions and the responsible decisions does not always mean taking the easy decisions. The increase in Employers’ National Insurance contrib...