By bizn_fun 
Rain Newton-Smith says has called on the government to deliver “stability” so that businesses can invest.
The CEO of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is addressing the group’s annual conference in central London.
She begins her speech by reflecting that both the government and business wants to see economic growth, but says only the latter can truly deliver it.
Newton-Smith continues: “We need one thing from this government, and we need it now: Stability.
“Stability that gives you the confidence to invest, to expand, to lead. If growth is our destination, stability is the only road to get there. There’s no shortcut, no bypass.
“Stability is the road to growth.”
She also gives the government her backing, saying she “genuinely” believes ministers want to deliver growth.
The CEO says the government’s approach to cutting red tape is “brave and bold”, while she points to the government’s industrial strategy.
“Strategies may point the way, but they don’t pour the concrete,” she says.
“But at this moment, ahead of the budget on Wednesday, it feels like for too many of you, we are off-track.
“So, right now, we face a fork in the road, where are our biggest fear is, if we get the wrong choices on Wednesday – more short-term tinkering, more bold choices not made, more politics over growth – then we risk getting locked in a stop-start economy, where large tax rises rear their head every year, or even every autumn and spring.
“That is not the road to growth. That is a cycle of doubt and uncertainty, a road to certain decline.”
Newton-Smith says she does not accept this, and nor should anybody else.
“I did not come into this job to manage decline,” she says.
“If growth is your priority, make hard choices for it,” she tells the government.