DEBATE: Should the Heathrow expansion go ahead? Following a court ruling in favour of environmentalists, should the Heathrow expansion go ahead? Dr Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chamber of Commerce, says YES. Business communities across the UK will be bitterly disappointed that plans for a world-leading hub airport are now at risk. Without expansion, firms risk losing crucial regional connectivity [...]
Levelling up is possible — but the government has to listen to what people want Levelling up. This slightly odd turn of phrase is set to become one of the defining tests of the new Johnson government. Inequalities between the regions and nations of the United Kingdom are not a new problem, and nor are central government policy initiatives designed to tackle them. Business communities — particularly those outside the [...]
What the UK’s businesses want from the election The unrelenting rising cost of doing business is damaging investment here at home. During this election campaign, we’ve heard a lot of ambitious talk about the future shape of our economy. In their own very different ways, all the major parties have acknowledged that uncertainty over Brexit has held back productivity and confidence, and that major steps are needed [...]
We should roll back the barriers to growth post-Brexit – not employment rights February 13, 2017 For years, some of the people I’ve encountered on the Westminster circuit have argued that one of the principal reasons for the UK to leave the EU is employment law. For this hardy bunch, and their tight circle of business supporters, rolling back employment legislation always seemed to be the answer to everything that ails Britain. [...]
What should chancellor Philip Hammond prioritise in his Autumn Statement? October 24, 2016 Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, says infrastructure. Whether small or large, infrastructure schemes boost local business confidence, regenerate areas, create business opportunities for a vast array of UK firms, and “crowd in” related private sector investment. Given decades of underinvestment, chronic delays, deficient digital networks and lagging productivity, an infrastructure-focused stimulus [...]
Our infantile political class is failing to appreciate the scale of Britain’s challenges October 4, 2016 A country on the brink of a historic transition. An economy in need of serious, long-term thinking. A wider world that, as ever, remains a work in progress. A swathe of our own population here at home that remains on the margin. These are serious, generation-spanning challenges that require all of us – whether in business, [...]
