The week begins with the chancellor’s first major speech since taking office in the summer, with John Healey saying this morning that he wants to “make Great Britain, growth Britain”.
More broadly, it’s going to be a busy week for Andy Burnham’s government, with EU relations minister Hamish Falconer in Brussels for ‘reset’ talks, and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds due to meet Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) representatives in the coming days as the automotive firm prepares to make up to 4,000 redundancies.
Healey speech on ‘growth Britain’
Chancellor John Healey has just made his first major speech since taking office in the summer, saying that his mission is to “make Great Britain, growth Britain” again, while acknowledging that fiscal discipline must remain the government’s “first priority”.
When elaborating what growth would feel like for the British people, he gave the example of a “business winning a new export order which gives the community around it a new lease of life”.
Healey said the government will complete a “permanent transfer of power and resources” from Whitehall to the UK’s regions, adding that successful devolution to the UK’s city regions would see the economy “transformed”.
He announced a £150m fund from the British Business Bank to support innovative scale-ups in the North, alongside ‘Northern500’, a new scheme convening mid-sized businesses in one community alongside regional mayors, with support from central government and the private sector.
He also said that investment would be supported at the regional level too, with South Yorkshire, Liverpool, North-East England and Cardiff announced as the latest partners of the National Wealth Fund.
"Across all the nations in the UK, we will support local leaders to deliver local growth," he said.
He also addressed AI and youth unemployment, saying the latter was a “moral and fiscal duty” for the government to address.
We will include further response and analysis of the chancellor’s speech in tomorrow’s Global Trade Today newsletter, which you can sign up to for free.
What else is on the government’s agenda
An immediate concern for the government will be the reports that the country’s biggest carmaker, JLR, is planning to make up to 4,000 redundancies, representing almost 12% of its UK workforce and reflecting the difficult conditions facing Europe’s automotive industry.
Jonathan Reynolds, the minister in charge of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST), will be meeting representatives from the company this week, alongside relevant trade unions, but has indicated that the government will not “intervene” to “bail people out”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg yesterday, he said any support would be about helping JLR to adapt to what the firm has described as “evolving global market conditions”.
“If this is about making sure, over time, that the workforce is right to make the business as competitive as possible; that’s the conversation we need to have,” Reynolds said.
One of the challenges faced by the European automakers is the increasing competitiveness and manufacturing output of China, particularly around electric vehicle production. This has been a factor in the EU’s plans to introduce new ‘Made in Europe’ procurement policies, with the UK bidding to ensure it has some involvement in this new scheme.
European relations minister Hamish Falconer is meeting his European trade commissioner, Maroš Šefčovič, in Brussels today and will be hoping to “secure concessions” on Made in Europe, according to Politico’s London Playbook. UK prime minister Andy Burnham expressed concerns about the impact of the scheme on UK industry last week.
Members can read more about those talks in an exclusive EU Trade Digest feature.
Notes from Reform Party Conference
Party conference season is also underway, with Reform UK’s annual gathering taking place in Birmingham over the weekend. The Chartered Institute is sending representatives to many of the conferences, with its director general, Marco Forgione, speaking on a panel yesterday about ‘The Case for Capitalism’.
Forgione argued in favour of free and fair trade, cautioning against countries “putting up barriers”. He also warned that “market distortions” are a barrier to growth and investment, and a cause of dissatisfaction among the electorate.
He said the UK should seek a new basis for its economic resilience in the face of rising geopolitical competition and the risks that come with this. He called on the UK to maximise trading relationships with its main allies, including members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU.
Chartered Institute representatives will also be attending the Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrat party conferences later this month.
Export controls webinar and report
Also of note this week, the Chartered Institute will tomorrow launch a new, free guide about the key compliance considerations for businesses affected by export controls.
The guide, titled ‘Export controls – four steps to developing an internal compliance programme’, will be officially launched at a Global Trade Live webinar hosted by the institute tomorrow.
Report author Daniela Turiccki, who is the charity’s director of defence and export controls, will be speaking on the webinar, alongside representatives from BIST.
You can watch her preview of the report and webinar here.
Also in the trade news today
· Documents obtained by Politico show that a Chinese-owned firm is supplying Russia with materials needed to build drones for its war with Ukraine
· Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky expects the war with Russia to continue into another winter, following talks with US envoys over the weekend
· US and Chinese trade officials are engaged in a spat over Beijing’s refusal to accept a communique of G20 finance ministers; China has said the document undermines “the broader multilateral agenda”
Dates for the diary this week
· Monday: The Parliamentary Labour Party meets for the first time since Burnham became prime minister in the summer
· Tuesday: The Business and Trade Committee begins a new inquiry into the Industrial Strategy and the Chartered Institute hosts its monthly Global Trade Live webinar on export controls
· Wednesday: Welsh members of the Chartered Institute convene in Cardiff for an in-person Devolved Nation Forum
· Thursday: Donald Trump to deliver a keynote address at the Republican Party’s midterm convention
· Friday: Monthly UK GDP figures published and the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks to be marked
· Saturday: Trump begins a visit to Ireland and India hosts BRICS summit
· Sunday: Trades Union Congress begins
