Adam Afriyie, the MP for Windsor, has welcomed the news that the country’s public finances were in surplus for the month of July. Over July the public sector received £184m more in tax revenue than it spent on public services. This is the first surplus for the month of July in 15 years.

Since 2010 the budget deficit has also dropped from over 10% of GDP to less than 3%. Over the same period the economy has cumulatively grown by 15.2% and unemployment has dropped to 4.4%, its lowest rate since 1975.

 

The MP for the Windsor constituency, Adam Afriyie welcomed the figures:

“The budget surplus is welcome surprise. There’s a long way to go before Conservatives can finally deal with Labour’s reckless overspending, but I expect this to be an increasingly common occurrence in the years ahead.

“It is also good timing as the Government begins the third round of Brexit talks with the EU. We can see now more than ever that the fundamentals of a strong economy are low taxation and light touch, supportive regulation. Not the dirigiste approach of the EU or the extreme 1970s nationalisation policies that Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party want to drag us back to.

“It’s hard to believe that just over a year ago many politicians and journalists were scaremongering about a recession and unemployment to increase by 500,000. Instead we have seen quarter on quarter of steady growth, the number of people out of work falling to its lowest in a generation and the public finances reach their most robust position since 2002.

“This is a significant watermark since Labour let rip with excessive public spending and recklessly inflated the deficit balloon.

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ENDS

Note to editors

1.    Adam Afriyie is the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Ghana.

2.    He has a strong background in science, technology and innovation.

3.    He is currently Chairman of the Fintech APPG, Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) and President of the Conservative Technology Forum (CTF).

4.    He was shadow Minister for Science from 2007-2010 and has a background in the information services and technology sector.

5.    The full statistical bulletin by the Office of National Statistics regarding the public sector finances for July 2017 can be found here.