Twenty months ago, Labour got to work on its plan to achieve economic growth, putting more people to work, creating more wealth and reducing the deficit.

Back then we were accused of promising pie in the sky and pursuing a course that could even lead to a bailout.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The last year proved that our economic plan is working. Malta is succeeding and families are being rewarded for their hard work.

Our focus for 2015 is to cement these achievements and set the bar even higher. The Budget for next year is focused on long-term reforms that successive governments failed to tackle. They cover several areas, including energy, health and transport, among others.

Most importantly, we are not taking the easy route of relying on one-off initiatives to achieve growth and cut the deficit.

We have the highest employment levels ever recorded. We have historic low levels of unemployment. We will not stop here. Next year’s drive to get people off social welfare and into employment will mark a culture change. We want fewer people on benefits and even more people working and contributing to our growing economy.

Free childcare, the youth guarantee, and the introduction of active labour market policies in 2014 paved the way for these results. More women are working, while inactive young people have been encouraged to take up work. These first steps reaped results, but are not enough.

Driving people into work not only helps our economy. It gives a sense of personal dignity and improves society in general. All major social reforms, I believe, start from the basic idea of having more people actively contributing to society.

I, for one, will not accept a situation where people sit on their couches waiting to get paid for doing nothing. Social welfare is there as a last resort safety net. For all those who can contribute, the only option is to work to a living.

This difficult route will in the end achieve one of Labour’s biggest targets as a progressive party: closing the gap between those who have fallen behind and those who are forging ahead in life.

We are not doing this by keeping people who are well-off from moving forward. Rather, this is a bottom-up approach, moving people up the ladder through a carrot-and-stick approach.

For some families there will be a payment of up to €1,000 per child, a substantial top-up when both parents are working.

I will not accept a situation where people sit on their couches waiting to get paid for doing nothing

While doing this, we are also making sure people are not burdened by rising costs. For the second consecutive year the price of electricity for families remains 25 per cent lower from the time we took office.

From March 2015, the reduction will be extended to businesses. That is a further €50 million injection into the economy, lowering costs and providing a stimulus for enterprises to expand.

This Budget gave a major boost to the concept of public-private partnerships. The government is committed to working with the private sector to improve the quality of services and kick-start projects.

We will work together to achieve long-term progress.

But the reform I put top of my list is that regarding the inclusion of people with disability in an active society.

Firstly, we will be building homes for independent living for people with disability. This was one of the most important electoral pledges at the last election.

We are also positively encouraging people with disability to take up employment, not only giving them incentives to work, but also enforcing the law which obliges companies of more than 20 employees to have at least two per cent of their workforce with some sort of disability.

Being among the best in Europe is not a tagline anymore, it is becoming a reality. We are among the top-ranking EU countries for people in work. Our growth figures are going up and our deficit is going down.

The European Commission and credit rating agencies have had words of praise for our country, recognising that Malta is moving in the right direction. Families are feeling the difference and change is being felt.

This in no way means that we have achieved enough. We will aim higher.

There will be mistakes along the way because this government is not infallible. I am happy with the general direction of most decisions being taken, but mindful that it easy to err.

As a progressive government we believe that we do not have to choose between having a strong economy or a fair economy. We can have both.

Joseph Muscat is Prime Minister.