6 BusIness AUGUST 2019
OpiniOn
Damian Waters, Regional
Director, north west, CBI
Bring on a
new era of
government
partnership
with business
E
arly signals matter. The
new Prime Minister
has a real chance to
inject a new lease of
life into the north west
economy.
For three years Brexit
has stalled the UK economy. This
needs to change. This is why the CBI
launched a business ‘manifesto’ for the
north west and the UK. At its heart is a
proposal for a new era of partnership
between business and government.
Only by working together can we seize
opportunities, overcome challenges
and unite the country.
The north west economy has many
strengths: a skilled workforce;
world-leading universities;
global hubs of service
and manufacturing
excellence; superb
routes to the rest of
the world.
Together with our
language,
location and ease
of doing
business, the
north west brand
remains a powerful
global calling card. It
is a mark of quality
and a magnet for
international investment.
But, as the UK steers a post-Brexit
course, a new wave of economic, social
and technological change will reshape
our country, posing challenges and
opportunities for how we live and
work. We have the chance to build a
region that is not only more prosperous
but also fairer. The CBI and its
members are committed to working
with the government to seize these
opportunities.
I am urging the new Prime Minister
to support these measures which are
critical for regional growth:
●●Commit in full to significant
infrastructure projects including HS
and Northern Powerhouse Rail
●●Ensure that the education system
works for young people in the north
west, closing the growing attainment
gap across the region.
●●Deliver a clear framework for
devolution to ensure that evolves
existing deals and provides clarity on
future deals.
●●We also want UK research and
development expenditure to
reach three per cent of
GDP in the long-term
and more funding to
support firms at the
pre-commercialised
stage of R&D
included in the
forthcoming
Government
Spending Review.
This will help the
north west grow and
thrive in the years
ahead.
On one issue raised often with
me – the issue of business rates – we
are calling for real action.
The new government should publish
a roadmap to deliver annual business
rates revaluations and to undertake a
comprehensive and independent
review of the business rates regime tofind a long-term solution to their
distorting impact by the end of this
Parliament.
Boris Johnson must back up his
campaign promises and prove to be
indisputably pro-business.
By backing business, the government
can ensure the north west benefits
from enterprise, jobs and growth. We
have clear ideas about how to move
forward the north west and we hope to
create a new partnership of business
and government.
However, the Prime Minister has
pledged to take Britain out of the EU by
the end of October, without a deal if
need be.
No deal can feel like a clean break, a
way out of the mess. When I ask what
people most want from Brexit, many
say “for it to be over”.
But here, the message from business
groups must be deafeningly clear or we
are not doing our job. A no-deal Brexit
is not a clean break.
The north west could be among the
regions most exposed to the economicfall-out from leaving with the EU
without a deal.
If the UK fails to secure a deal, by
2034 real GVA – a measure of value of
goods and services produced in the
region – could be 9.4% lower in the
north west than under current
arrangements.
This could amount to an annual loss
of output of over £20bn by 2034 (in
today’s prices), more than double the
amount of public funds spent each year
on schools and education in the region.
No deal will not mean Brexit is over- for the UK or the EU.
It will not mean an end to uncertainty
for business. Quite the opposite. No
deal is a tripwire into economic chaos
that could harm our country, and the
EU, for years to come. And let me set
out why, using evidence we have today.
These are not the much-derided
Project Fear predictions of 2016.
This is Project Reality.
I urge the new Prime Minister to
work with us in the region to deliver for
everyone in the north west.
The north west brand
remains a powerful global
calling card. It is a mark of
quality and a magnet for
international
investment