CBI: Bold changes needed after pandemic to transform the UK into trading powerhouse
This year must be a “turning point” for the UK’s economic policy, one of the country’s biggest business lobby groups is urging.
The Confederation for British Industry (CBI) warned that failure to make bold changes will result in a return to “business as usual”, with persistently low productivity and heightened social division that followed the 2008 financial crisis.
The CBI published a economic plan aimed at establishing a “competitive, dynamic and future-focused UK” following the shocks of Brexit and Covid-19.
Tony Danker, CBI director-general, said: “This country will never have a greater opportunity to transform our economy and society for the better than we have right now.
“This is the moment where we have a genuine chance to make big bets on how the UK economy will grow and compete.
“To use that appetite to invest, to collaborate globally after a decade of protectionism.
“To lift thousands of young people out of limbo, so they can reach their potential, and to build on that bond between employers and employees closer than ever before.”
Danker said the CBI plan was to make the UK the most competitive and dynamic economy in the world, especially in achieving green growth.
Torsten Bell, chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, said: “UK businesses are set for a decade of major economic change that the country is neither used to nor prepared for.
“From grappling with new trade and migration rules, to adapting to technological shifts and seeking opportunities from our net zero transition, change is coming…
“Instead of muddling through, now is the time to renew the UK’s economy strategy to steer Britain successfully through the 2020s.”
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “British businesses played a crucial role during the pandemic, and they are vital as we shape a fair economic recovery, and look to create the decent jobs that help people and places prosper.
“Today’s report rightly underlines that we face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the UK economy for a new future.”