From Bretton Woods to the G20 - how to help the economy

After an incredible build-up, London will finally play host to leaders of the world's 20 largest economies (well, nineteen and the EU to be accurate) in a bid to find some global answers to the worst economic meltdown since 1930.

The scale of the challenge, not helped by the complexity of today's global economy, may mean this summit will not be the 'Bretton Woods' of its day. Indeed, expectations are already being lowered and, if the weekend papers are to be believed, this London gathering could be reduced to just a footnote in summit history perhaps notable only for vast numbers of protestors who are planning to descend on the City and how they intend to behave.

The original Bretton Woods meeting, the summit that laid the foundations for post-war international finance, took place in the so named town in New Hampshire USA during the summer of 1944. It was pivotal in helping create a new international world order, restoring confidence and establishing a stable system of exchange rates. It also led to, or confirmed the creation of, a number of international organisations we are familiar with today including the United Nations, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The collective decisions made at Bretton Woods were clearly remarkable but it was the actions of individual countries following this that ensured prosperity would follow. Following the lead set by the US, governments across the globe invested in improving infrastructure. Works were undertaken on roads, railway lines and ports, harnessing advances in transport technology made during the war and repairing (in the case of Europe) and upgrading the arterial routes of trade which enabled businesses to flourish with the improved movement of goods and skills.

Applying this approach to today's economic climate, thanks to the digital revolution access to markets is taking another giant step forward. It is the internet which now opens up trade routes with new broadband networks acting as the business highways of today.

Sadly this Government's failure to rollout our broadband fibre-optic network means these 'highways' don't yet exist and Britain has one of the slowest broadband speeds of all the G20 countries. Upgrading our broadband is such a simple way to help British business, but to date only the Conservative Party is committed to rolling out next generation broadband to the majority of the country in five years.