UK can be EU’s biggest economy by 2035, says Clegg

The UK can overtake Germany to become Europe’s economic “powerhouse” by 2035, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg said yesterday.

The UK could catch up and overtake the French economy within “a few short years” before setting its sights on Germany, the Liberal Democrat leader said as he set out his party’s five-point plan to spur growth faster than the eurozone’s biggest economies.

“We can leapfrog France and Germany to become the biggest economy in Europe within a generation. That is hugely ambitious, but also absolutely possible,” Mr Clegg said in a speech at a Siemens technology exhibit in east London.

“To do it, we need to do two things: To secure the recovery and to put in place an ambitious long-term strategy that harnesses and encourages the skills and dynamism of British workers and British businesses.”

The Liberal Democrats, junior partners in a coalition with the Tories, have seen their support crash as the party struggles to convince voters of its role in the UK’s economic recovery.

Business secretary Vince Cablesaid that, under the party’s plan, long-term economic growth would be spurred by financing for small and medium-sized businesses, apprenticeships, business innovation, and a renegotiation of immigration laws with the EU.

Bloomberg