The Labour party pledged to help British industry flourish if it wins a third term in office when it unveiled its business manifesto today.
It promised to set up a manufacturing skills academy as part of plans to help thousands of firms over the next five years.
The Prime Minister also pledged to increase the number of apprenticeships across the UK to 300,000.
Tony Blair said the UK had never worked so productively, created so much wealth and generated so many jobs.
But he warned that the world was transforming at a rapid pace and countries such as India and China were now competing with the UK on skills as well as costs.
Blair assured industry that Labour would work to ensure economic stability was maintained. He added that he would try to maintain a competitive tax regime and said he would reduce the burden of regulation.
The Liberal Democrats published their business manifesto earlier this month, with the Conservatives following suit on Monday of this week.
The Liberal Democrats pledged to carry out the ‘single biggest act of deregulation in history’ by abolishing the DTI and transferring functions to other departments.
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They also promise to renew the regulatory process by carrying out impact assessments on each new piece of legislation and appoint a Minister for Business.
The Conservatives’ Action for Business document pledged to cut the burden of red tape on British businesses and unveiled a 10-point action plan promising lower business taxes and more government support for UK exporters.
