Britain at its best is a country that invests in its future. For centuries, we have been pioneers – we were the inventors of infrastructure from the steam engine to the world wide web.

But today we are in a global race. We need to be able to compete with countries like China and India, which are investing billions in overhauling their infrastructure. For too long, we stood still while they surged forward.

Since we took over in 2010, we have reversed that trend. We have given the green light to HS2, we are undertaking the largest investment in our railways since the Victorian times, we are building Crossrail – Europe’s biggest infrastructure project.

Today we set out our commitment to invest in our country with £50 billion pounds of capital investment in 2015-16 and over £300 billion of capital spending guaranteed to the end of this decade.

We have set out the biggest investment in our roads since the 1970s and have confirmed investment in our railways. Our plans for more housing and schools are set out in detail, as are our decisions on science investment, energy policy and broadband. We are learning the lessons from the delivery of the Olympics and Crossrail to make sure we deliver for Britain.

These decisions are all possible because of the tough steps we have taken to get our finances under control. This is what the country needs. Our actions now will deliver a Britain in the future that is fully equipped to compete in the global race.