With 2023 now upon us it’s time to turn our attention away from the ‘urgent’ and towards the ‘important’. This is something that I have spoken about before, both in person at events like the East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce and whenever I speak about my role.
Because whilst urgent issues are, by nature, matters which need rapid intervention and focus, if all we ever do is focus on those urgent items then the important, strategic issues, will never get a look in.
In my last piece for LBV I wrote about the challenges that the Chancellor and Prime Minister had facing them ahead of the Autumn Fiscal Statement. Their task was to announce a package which reassured markets, delivered sustainable public finances, and put inflation on a downwards path. It is testament to their work that what was announced, whilst difficult, achieved this.
But we must now look ahead and, as I said at the beginning of this article, look at the important issues of how we create a nurturing and stable economic environment where businesses can thrive, innovate and grow.
The Chancellor has already started to lay the groundwork for this.
On one of our biggest exports – financial services - landmark reforms have been announced. With reformed rules for insurance companies investment worth up to £100 billion will be unlocked to accelerate regional growth in areas like Lancashire. And because this is private sector and very patient capital, it could bring a new wave of infrastructure investment and innovation.
But, most excitingly for our part of the country, the Government is now looking energetically at five high potential sectors to identify ways of developing a pro-innovation approach. These areas are digital technology, green industries, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and creative industries.
We already excel in so many of these, but we know we have more to offer. With experts now appointed to help with this review, our asks should be clear to Government. We want to see Government being ambitious, not looking at tinkering around the edges, but looking to support clusters that would rival Silicon Valley in the impact they have.
But these industries won’t flourish without the broader economy flourishing too. So setting our high streets and broader business environment on a more optimistic footing than we have had for some years due to Covid and energy costs, is an absolute must.
