U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron pledged more action to deal with “excess” in pay in the finance industry as he said the country “will get through” a difficult year.

In his New Year message, Cameron said the eyes of the world will be on Britain in 2012, with the Olympic Games in London and the celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne. “It gives us an extraordinary incentive to look outward, look onwards and to look our best: to feel pride in who we are and what — even in these trying times — we can achieve,” he said.

Assuring families struggling with inflation and young people unable to find work amid weak economic growth that he understands their concerns, Cameron pledged to be “bold about working to cure the problems of our society.”