You know the speaker at a conference is going to be high profile when you go to take a seat at your reserved table and there’s a note saying: ‘Reserved for No.10’!
Of course, I duly moved and the seat was soon occupied by a security guard with customary earpiece.
It turned out the unspecified ‘Senior Cabinet Minister’ on the agenda at the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) Global Annual Conference was none other than Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer fresh from the NATO summit.
Much of what the PM and his Government have done in terms of its policy towards business has been welcomed by the BCC and, our client, the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce over the past year. Speeding up planning, setting out an industrial strategy, bolstering trade and improving infrastructure have all had the thumbs up from firms.
But there is no doubt that companies were surprised and stung by the unexpected rise in Employers’ National Insurance in the budget last year.
The Prime Minister began his keynote speech by acknowledging that. It was framed not as an apology but as a thank you. “We asked a lot of you,” he told the packed room of business leaders. He cited NHS weighting lists coming down in direct correlation of the partnership between Government and business.
From there, he went on to list some of the wins he – and his Government – have achieved and it was here that there was marked change in tone.
Sir Keir has spent a lot of time with the President of the USA lately and as well as gathering his dropped papers, he’s also picked up a bit of Mr Trump’s language.
It wasn’t quite “I’ve made Britian Great Again,” but there was a definite attempt to contrast himself with past leaders and to frame himself as a dealmaker.
“They said it would be impossible to get a US deal,” he smiled. “It would be impossible to get an EU deal if you had a US deal – you had to choose between the two. And it certainly wouldn’t be possible to get an India deal. We’ve been able to get them all and that is brilliant for you.”
We’re winning. They said it couldn’t be done, and I’ve done it. Remind you of someone?
Okay, he didn’t drop in the f-word but he made plenty of references to the amount of investment attracted into the economy because of the more stable environment his Government had delivered which, again, had echoes of his US counterpart.
It’s probably no surprise that there has been a shift in language and tone with the latest PLMR/Electoral Calculus opinion poll showing Reform streets ahead across the country.
And, ultimately, it will only change the dial in opinion if all of the winning starts to be felt on the bottom line for businesses and in the pockets of the general public.
