This has caused a fair bit of heat, but on the central point surely it is right:
Brexit is a radical restructuring of UK's economic place in the world - with all that means for domestic reforms.
I'm constantly amazed at how complacent / 'carry on as before' many are
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Brexit is a radical restructuring of UK's economic place in the world - with all that means for domestic reforms.
I'm constantly amazed at how complacent / 'carry on as before' many are
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https://twitter.com/DavidGHFrost/status/1463108348589531137
To take three examples: international investment, skills and planning reform.
Many national & local leaders seem to think we can just bumble along, not offend any voting group & hey presto, post Brexit economic health follows. Sadly I don't think this will cut it
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Many national & local leaders seem to think we can just bumble along, not offend any voting group & hey presto, post Brexit economic health follows. Sadly I don't think this will cut it
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On international investment, we need to get $$$$ to counterbalance lost EU investment.
At present no strong approach to winning int investment. Currently a patchwork of local investment advisors, but most have public sector background + lack of physical sites to sell
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At present no strong approach to winning int investment. Currently a patchwork of local investment advisors, but most have public sector background + lack of physical sites to sell
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In our large geographic region there are currently ZERO large scale strategic sites to land big deals.
Our local authorities havent provided these sites for decades & have no appetite or incentive to bring forward. You can't be global Britain with nowhere to put them.
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Our local authorities havent provided these sites for decades & have no appetite or incentive to bring forward. You can't be global Britain with nowhere to put them.
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Contrast the UK with our competition in Eastern Europe & elsewhere - Hungry is building mega giga factories at a scale the UK system doesn't countenance.
& Large sites that do exist are being taken by logistics. But you can't build comparative advantage on internet shopping
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& Large sites that do exist are being taken by logistics. But you can't build comparative advantage on internet shopping
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On skills - our post 16 skills system is failing, esp those deprived households who fail to get good academic results.
At present, the no of deprived groups getting apprenticeships (& also total number of apprenticeships) has been declining since 2016, just when needs to rise
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At present, the no of deprived groups getting apprenticeships (& also total number of apprenticeships) has been declining since 2016, just when needs to rise
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Whilst our schools system is deeply unequal - but as benefits upper & middle classes appetite for reform limited, leaving large part of our people under utilised.
On neither post 16 or schools is current level of political ambition sufficient to scale or external challenge?
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On neither post 16 or schools is current level of political ambition sufficient to scale or external challenge?
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Whilst on planning reform- accross the UK we are currently building on employment sites to avoid offending powerful local anti development interests (often retired & well off).
This squeezes biz competitiveness & hurts jobs and kills many biz growth plans.
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This squeezes biz competitiveness & hurts jobs and kills many biz growth plans.
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Time & again I see local authorities under allocating employment land - even in previous pro growth areas like Swindon (recently rejected application for a new science park whilst old Honda plant going to logistics).
Yet national planning reform barely mentions employment..
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Yet national planning reform barely mentions employment..
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& new gov targets pushes bulk of new housing growth onto city centre employment land..!
To be blunt: our planning system seems designed to help the economically inactive suffocate the needs of the economically active. Post Brexit this is surely unsustainable.
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To be blunt: our planning system seems designed to help the economically inactive suffocate the needs of the economically active. Post Brexit this is surely unsustainable.
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This is reinforced by, uniquely for OECD high income countries, a non existent regional planning system, with weak incentives for councils to co-operate accross wider geographies.
Just when we should be thinking big, our planning system encourages thinking small
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Just when we should be thinking big, our planning system encourages thinking small
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This is before we get to tax burden & biz environ or wider industrial strategy..
First 5 years of Brexit was gov getting to grips with formal UK:EU relationship & trade framework. Next ten years must surely be on implications for our domestic economy & policy support.
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First 5 years of Brexit was gov getting to grips with formal UK:EU relationship & trade framework. Next ten years must surely be on implications for our domestic economy & policy support.
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Even ardent Brexiteers I know have failed to grasp the above. Too many believe UK can just doodle along, whilst everyone stays in comfy bubble & hoping something turns up.
But Brexit means change: too few grasped that, both left / right & leave / remain
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But Brexit means change: too few grasped that, both left / right & leave / remain
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