BROMSGROVE MP chose Longbridge as the location to launch the government's new Productivity Plan.

Sajid Javid, who as well as the town's MP is the Business Secretary, spoke on the government’s plan for tackling the economic challenge of increasing Britain’s productivity.

The MP chose Longbridge as he is championing the Midlands engine, and revealed the document Fixing the Foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation.

It features 15 areas, seen as key to securing a rising living standard and a better quality of life for citizens.

During his speech the MP said: "Our long-term economic plan is working, and Britain is working.

"I want to take British business to the next level. And the best way to do that is to boost our productivity.

"Standing here in Longbridge a decade ago you could have been forgiven for thinking that Britain’s car industry was in terminal decline. Yet today, the UK is home to the world’s most productive automotive sector.

"If one sector can solve the productivity puzzle in such spectacular fashion, there’s no reason why others can’t too.

"Higher productivity means higher incomes.

"When productivity rises, standards of living rise too.

"I’m proud to publish ‘Fixing the foundations’. It’s our plan for productivity, and our blueprint for creating a more prosperous nation."

Among the proposals in the document is cutting corporation tax to 18 per cent in 2020, increasing the personal allowance to £12,500, replacing maintenance grants with loans for new students, the creation of a new roads fund from 2020-21, the introduction of a new National Living Wage, and creating "competitive markets with less regulation, including by cutting £10 billion of red tape".

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne said: "The only way to sustainably raise the living standards of the citizens of our nation is to confront the challenge of our lifetime, to raise productivity.

"This will not be achieved over night and will require a truly national effort by government, business and working people. But with this blueprint to fix the foundations of our economy, I believe that we have taken the vital first step."