UK ending 'decade of austerity' despite Brexit

Britain's finance minister announced Wednesday that the crisis-torn country was ending a decade of austerity and focusing on investing in growth despite the economic uncertainties of Brexit.

"We can now afford to turn the page on austerity and move forward from a decade of recovery to a decade of renewal," Sajid Javid told parliament as he announced his spending plan for the next year.

"We can now afford to spend more on vital public services," he said.

Javid said he intends to raise government spending by 13.8 billion pounds (USD 16.8 billion, 15.3 billion euros) on health and education as well as putting more police on the streets.

"Even with the extra spending, we are still meeting the current fiscal rules," he said.

"While our biggest challenge a decade ago was getting the deficit down, our biggest challenge today is getting our long-term economic growth back to where it was."