Issuing his New Year's message on Sunday, British Prime Minister David Cameron defended his administration's unpopular government spending cuts.
"This is, quite simply, a government in a hurry. And there's a reason for that. Britain is in a global race to succeed today. It is (a) race with countries like China, India and Indonesia; a race for the jobs and opportunities of the future," he said.
"So when people say we can slow down on cutting our debts, we are saying 'no.' We can't win in this world with a great millstone of debt round our necks.
"When people say we've got to stop our welfare reforms because, somehow, it is cruel to expect people to work, we are saying 'no.' Getting people into good jobs is absolutely vital, not just for them, but for all of us."
He made no mention of the European Union, a topic on which he is due to make a speech in the first week of the year.
Cameron praised progress by his government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in cutting the fiscal deficit and reforming welfare and schools, saying: "On all the big issues that matter to Britain, we are heading in the right direction."