Opinion-in-brief: Talking down to London won’t level up the country
Boris Johnson’s conference speech may have been in his signature comedic style but many in London’s business community are concerned for their future today.
A cumulative crisis in business conditions is threatening our recovery. The capital has seen a distressing number of corporate casualties and is now facing supply chains issues, labour shortages and inflation. Wednesday’s speech did little to reassure that there is a plan.
Rather than “overheating”, London has seen both the biggest decline in jobs, the highest number of jobs furloughed, and the slowest economic recovery of any region.
Cohesive leadership is required. We should focus on national collaboration based on need rather than geography. Cities working together should lead to wealth and prosperity being shared without any one particular area suffering.