NEW Prime Minster Rishi Sunak has been urged to offer a long-term vision to allow companies to thrive – and to back a major project for the region.
The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce has called on Mr Sunak to balance short-term issues with providing a long-term plan.
The Chamber’s Chief Executive Corin Crane said: “It has been a tumultuous few months and businesses across the region are hoping for a period of calm and stability. We wish the new Prime Minister well and hope that he can achieve that in the short-term.
“There are so many issues facing businesses right now and his first task will be to reassure companies that they will get continued support with rising energy costs and also that the Government will be able to provide a solution to the problems with recruitment.”
He said businesses across the region also wanted to see a long-term plan for investment and growth.
“We have been on a path of short-term fixes over recent years – due to Brexit, Covid and global events – but firms are crying out for a strategy that gives them confidence to invest for the future.
“Part of that has to be reaffirming a commitment to investment in regional infrastructure, including investment zones, because we believe there is an extremely strong case for the Gigafactory development at Coventry Airport to be one. That would be a real game-changer for the whole of Coventry and Warwickshire.”
Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said: “The political and economic uncertainty of the past few months has been hugely damaging to British business confidence and must now come to an end.
“The new Prime Minister must be a steady hand on the tiller to see the economy through the challenging conditions ahead.
“This means setting out fully costed plans to deal with the big issues facing businesses; soaring energy bills, labour shortages, spiralling inflation, and climbing interest rates.
“We cannot afford to see any more flip-flopping on policies – the UK’s businesses need a sustainable, long-term economic plan they can believe in.”
She said the BCC was writing to the Prime Minister to set out the ‘vital’ action needed to tackle the challenges facing business.
“Firstly, the Government must provide more certainty on the energy support package for businesses and quickly communicate how the system will work from April. Firms need to know what support to expect in the medium and long-term.
“Secondly, they must fix the extremely tight labour market. Without the skilled people to do the jobs businesses need, the economy will stagnate.
“Thirdly, to grow the economy, Government must set out a strategy to boost our international trade and exports.
“People run businesses and businesses rely on people. The new administration must grasp that the cost of living and cost of doing business crises are two sides of the same coin.
“We need a clear long-term vision of how the new Prime Minister will deal with the challenges ahead and create the business conditions that allow firms, and the communities that rely on them, to thrive.”
