DAVID CAMERON has used his New Year’s message to declare that Britain is “heading in the right direction” on all the big issues and can look forward to 2013 with “realism and optimism”.
In the video address, the Prime Minister acknowledged that 2012 was “tough”, with many families finding it difficult to make ends meet, and admitted he had “no quick fixes” to the UK’s economic problems.
But he cited evidence of “real progress” on cutting the state deficit, reforming welfare and improving school standards, which he said was preparing Britain to succeed in the “global race” with emerging economic giants like China and India for the jobs and opportunities of the future.
Mr Cameron said that his administration was “a government in a hurry” which would not give in to pressure to slow the pace of deficit reduction or rein in reforms to welfare and education.
He said: “We can look to the future with realism and optimism. Realism, because you can’t cure problems that were decades in the making overnight. There are no quick fixes and I wouldn’t claim otherwise.
“But we can be optimistic too because we are making tangible progress. We are doing what’s right for our country and what’s best for our children’s future.”
Insisting that “we are on the right track”, he said: “On all the big issues that matter to Britain, we are heading in the right direction and I have the evidence to prove it.”
The deficit is forecast to be a quarter smaller at the New Year than it was when the coalition Government came to office, there are almost half a million more people in work, and more than 1,000 new academy schools have opened, said Mr Cameron.