By Iain Anderson
The business community plays a vital role in our economy. I know this, having founded my own business over 20 years ago and have advised companies from small to global on how to engage with governments of all stripes in that time.
Usually, dialogue between the public and private sectors was a two-way street. More recently, however, this has broken down and something has gone wrong. Due to the increased political instability of the last few years, there has been a negative knock-on effect on the relationship between business and government, with trust having been eroded and genuine dialogue stifled.
I was asked by the shadow business and trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds MP, to conduct a review of how business engages with government currently, and what could be improved to rekindle this important relationship.
Over the course of four months I have spoken to and engaged with over 300 businesses and individuals. Their message was clear: we cannot continue as we are. The UK already has a poor record with regard to foreign direct investment when compared to other similar sized countries. We cannot allow the wealth creators in our economy – and the real drivers of growth – to shun Britain any longer.
To my mind, we need to return to first principles, and build a true partnership between business and government that has clarity, consistency, courtesy, collaboration capability, and confidence at its heart.
We need clarity of direction from government and in the form of predictable policies. Labour’s missions as set out last year by Keir Starmer and the shadow cabinet go a long way to addressing this.
An incoming government will also need consistency when pursuing a long-term approach to business engagement in order to develop deep and transparent relationships.
We need to put courtesy back at the heart of the way government and business interact, with government operating in a transparent and professional manner towards all stakeholders.
Collaboration should be embedded, and there should be a commitment to partnership and strategy co-creation, as well as problem solving.
Government needs world-class capabilities for civil servants to work with business and allow the right questions to be asked. And finally, we need to restore confidence in the government’s strategy and its ability to deliver it.
Keir Starmer gets it. He knows that to achieve his mission of the highest sustained economic growth in the G7 a Labour government will need to work hand in glove with the wealth creators in our country.
Every conversation I had during the course of this review touched on the importance of having a clear north star to follow when setting policy. By focusing on “growth, growth, growth”, Keir Starmer will be able to mobilise the business community behind him to make his goal a reality.
I attended the Labour Party Conference in October last year for the first time as a non-aligned observer, having been for most of my life a member of the Conservative Party. In Liverpool, Keir Starmer said that: “If we do come into government, you will be coming into government with us.”
Having officially finished this independent work for the Labour Party I am proud to say I will be voting for Keir Starmer to be our next Prime Minister this year.
The work behind this review might have ended but the real job starts now, and Keir Starmer is the man to do it.
