We have a golden opportunity to create a new ‘Brand Britain 2.0'

Times

3 hours ago

President Reagan famously said the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'
More than 40 years on, that's a message that business owners across Britain still sympathise with.
It's also a message I've been thinking about a lot as the government prepares to launch its industrial strategy next week.
It's a signature part of the government's growth agenda, and from speaking to the chancellor and the business secretary, I know it's something they believe in passionately as a way of putting rocket boosters under the economy.
So companies are expectant, but nervous. The last time the government knocked on their door they saw billions added to their tax bills by increasing national insurance contributions.
I speak to owners of companies of every size and shape day in, day out. And while they're clear they want no further taxes, they are equally clear that there is a hugely important role for the government to play in helping them to grow.
That's the prize that's at the heart of this industrial strategy. It must provide a genuine road map for how Britain's entrepreneurs, fuelled with huge reserves of imagination, ingenuity and dogged determination, can go further and faster to drive the economy forward.
• Cheaper energy will be key for Labour's industrial strategy
We have a golden opportunity to use the industrial strategy to create a new 'Brand Britain 2.0', that uses the strength of our past as the base to build an even better future. So how will we know if this industrial strategy has been a success?
It must set out clearly how we will leverage the country's competitive advantages. The eight priority sectors are the right ones — advanced manufacturing, financial services, life sciences, defence, digital, clean energy, professional and business services and our world-beating creative industries.
But alongside the key growth sectors of the economy, it must integrate every region's strengths into the plan, ensuring benefits for businesses and people across all nations of the United Kingdom. What will support industry in Glasgow isn't the same as what will drive growth in Colchester or Cornwall.
Plans by the government to unleash the potential of the Oxford-Cambridge corridor are an important start — but it needs to seriously consider how this can be replicated across the country.
It needs to set out how we close the skills gaps across the country, and how we create a stable regulatory environment, so businesses have certainty as they invest.
It needs to address energy, too. British firms are being hamstrung by eye-watering energy bills, which is having a direct impact on their ability to invest and hire.
And crucially, finance is the lifeblood of any business, so we need to see a plan that supports our most innovative firms to access capital and scale up their businesses. This is our chance to send a message to the world that the UK really is the best place to start, grow, invest and do business.
Let's not pretend that delivering this will be easy. It will require major work across almost every department in government, and a commitment from the public and private sectors to work in lockstep like never before.
At the British Chambers of Commerce, we've spent years calling for an industrial strategy that rises to the challenges that firms face and we're committed to making it work. Then we can set Britain on a path to thrive, not just survive.
Shevaun Haviland is director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce