David Cameron: Why it is fair to invest in region's roads and rail

By restoring health to the public finances, we can build confidence in our economy and start creating the wealth and jobs that are so vital for our future.

But last week wasn't just about cuts. We announced where we will be spending money, too – and this is just as important.

As every family or business knows, when you're tightening your belt, you've got to make sure every penny you do spend goes as far as possible.

For government, of course, that means making sure we always help the most vulnerable and needy.

But it also means making sure that money is directed towards supporting economic growth.

And one of the most important ways we can do that is by investing in our transport system.

Today, our roads and railways are holding our economy back – and if we're honest, testing our patience, too.

Congestion on roads costs us 20bn a year. And in one year alone, there were 14 million minutes of delay to rail journeys in our country.

But make the right investments now, and we won't just create jobs today – we'll create a stronger, greener economy over the long-term too, with travel times to work cut, our productivity increased and businesses strengthened.

That's why last week, despite all the constraints, we announced really ambitious plans for the future of transport in our country. We not only kept free bus passes for older people. Over the next four years, we will also invest over 30bn in various road, rail and local transport projects right across Britain – that's more than was invested during the past four years. And some of this money is going to go right here, in Yorkshire.

So we're going to make life easier for car-users, by adding capacity to one of the most congested stretches of motorway in the country – the M62 near Leeds.

For rail passengers, we're going to make improvements to the Midland Mainline, so the trip from Sheffield to the East Midlands and London is quicker.

And we've also announced plans for a high speed rail network, which will slash travel times between Leeds, Birmingham and London.

These are big, bold – and in many cases, long-overdue – projects. They are going to make a massive difference to your lives and the local economy. And we are 100 per cent committed to making sure they happen.

But as we deliver them, we will make sure we get real value for money, too. We will always remember that every pound of public spending has been earned on the shop floor, the factory floor, in the office.

It's not government money, as some people say. It's your money – and it's the Government's responsibility to maximise return. Around 1bn of savings have been made from the Crossrail budget in London – and I see no reason why we can't find savings in Yorkshire, too.

Spending reviews always force governments to choose – and this coalition has made its choice. We've chosen to deal with our debts because that's the right thing to do.

But we're doing the right thing the right way, too – using as much of the money we have as possible to invest in our infrastructure, help create jobs and give Britain a strong, positive and confident future.

David Cameron is the Prime Minister.