Richard Spring MP
Member of Parliament for West Suffolk

Returning on Saturday evening to Heathrow, as we circled for about 15 minutes in the clouds, I reflected that every time I now return to the airport, stacking takes place. I wonder what the price of this congestion is, whether in fuel costs or environmental impact. Quite simply Heathrow cannot accommodate the sheer volume of flights. 

A matter of seconds before we touched down in the packed Boeing 747-400, we lurched upwards again, the landing having been aborted. Apparently the plane in front had not cleared the runway. When we did eventually land, we had to make our way to the terminal for some time, and had to cross an active runway as well. It really has become chaotic. 

I personally always try to fly British Airways, despite its recent bad press. I still laugh, however, at the ludicrous attempt of the airline to get into the post 1997 Labour election victory ‘Cool Britannia’ mode. Do you remember those hideous, confusing tail fins – no Union flag, oh so old fashioned! 

And afternoon tea, scones and cream, were abolished on transatlantic flights. How people hated it and what a terrible waste of money it was. Margaret Thatcher memorably tried to cover up a model of the new tail fin design. 

I’ve lost count of the amount of times I have spoken to entrepreneurs who have told me that the tax and regulation burdens that have grown so much under Labour are holding them back.

The result of this is Britain has become less competitive and a less good place to grow a business. The Government’s recent proposal to raise capital gains tax is a prime example.

It is then no surprise to see that the UK has slipped from 2^nd to 9^th place in the international competitiveness league. With Britain’s economy is relatively deteriorating and Gordon Brown failing to prepare the economy for the long term, things could get worse still.

Yesterday, George Osborne launched a report providing a blueprint for making Britain the enterprise capital of the world. The report was commissioned by the Conservatives and produced by independent experts.

It calls for simpler taxes, lower Corporation tax rates, more incentives for reinvestment, mentoring systems for young entrepreneurs and a national system of ‘Dragons’ Dens’.

The day before Alan Duncan announced a new deregulation review headed by Sir David Arculus, which includes the former chief executive of the FSA, John Tiner.

Instead of encouraging our enterprise culture to flourish, tax and regulation is causing lasting damage. The business community is crying out for change. As this report shows, a Conservative government could create a better climate for enterprise – the ingredients and remedies are clear.

Ukraine is going through a difficult phase politically at present, with conflict between the President and Prime Minister. Ukraine is certainly not the only country where the two top politicians in government cordially dislike each other!

The Orange Revolution excited the imagination of the democratic world. However Ukraine is split in varying degrees between those who look westwards towards Europe and NATO and those who wish to be more accommodating to Russia. The country is rich in natural resources and strategically is vital as so much of Europe’s energy supplies transit through Ukraine.

It is hugely important that the country succeeds, and Ukrainians look to us, of all the countries of Western Europe to support them. Many thousands now live here or have established business connections here.

Last night we launched the British-Ukrainian Society – 250 people came, and there is much enthusiasm. I am the new chairman. There are already many organisations in this country linked to Ukraine, but we hope to provide an umbrella organisation for these links. Whether it is political, business, cultural or educational, we shall try to strengthen the bonds between the two countries.