Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first speech to Parliament, in which he pledged to reset Britain’s ailing economy and create a “pro-business culture”, has been welcomed by Logistics UK this week.
Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday (1 September), the Prime Minister promised to overhaul Britain’s economy and set it in a new direction by devolving power to the regions, as a way of driving economic growth across the country.
The strategy will identify key priority areas and support regional industrial programmes and local business initiatives. It will also provide locally-led technical pathways and work placements for young people.
Burnham also pledged to update the country’s ageing infrastructure, cut energy costs, remove the bottleneck to grid connections, support innovation and start-ups, and deliver a major housebuilding programme to help drive growth.
“This is the way we will build a pro-business culture and an innovation-led economy in all parts of the UK,” he added.
The Prime Minister said Britain’s economy needs to reset to rid itself of the ongoing impact of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s policies and Brexit.
He said: “Political power was centralised, economic power privatised, the country de-industrialised.
“Austerity followed, hollowing out councils and depriving them of the agency to act to reverse any of this,” he said.
“And then Brexit compounded the damage, ushering in a decade of low growth and stalled regeneration.”
He added: “Far from taking back control, the combination of these policies took control out of the hands of communities up and down Britain for 40 years. Too many places have been drifting.”
Commenting on Burnham’s speech, Ben Fletcher, Logistics UK chief executive, said: “The new Prime Minister’s first statement to the House of Commons today contained much for the logistics industry to welcome.
“Commitments driving economic growth across all parts of the country, addressing slow and costly grid connections and increasing construction activity all align with the priorities of Logistics UK’s members, who keep the economy moving by delivering everything that businesses and consumers rely on.
“I welcome the Prime Minister’s commitment to leveraging devolution to foster a pro-business environment and help more young people into work. We stand ready to support the government in reindustrialising and accelerating growth across the UK.”
The CBI also welcomed Burnham’s plans to drive growth across the country. Rain Newton-Smith, CBI chief executive, said: “It is encouraging to hear the Prime Minister talk positively about working in common cause with business to deliver growth in every part of the country.
“Ultimately, there is no credible path to reducing the cost of living without first tackling the cost of doing business. The Prime Minister is right to identify delays to grid connections, ageing infrastructure and high energy costs as major barriers to investment, productivity and growth.
“Further extending regional devolution is a welcome step, as is championing British-made start-ups and scale-ups, and the return of local industrial strategies that bring together government, business and our world class universities to drive the innovation-led growth the UK needs.”
