30 . Glasgow Busines August 2016


WE’RE STILL


Post-referendum, the Chamber looks to its history in how to maintain T


he seismic shockwaves of the European Referendum result are still being felt many weeks aſter a majority of UK citizens voted to


leave. Post-Brexit Britain is still coming to terms with the consequences. While the implications for Scotland – where voters clearly voted to remain in the European Union – could well include another referendum on independence. For the majority – but certainly not all – of


Glasgow Chamber members, the decision that the UK should leave the European Union is not what they wanted. Te Chamber took a neutral stance during the campaign. “Troughout the referendum campaign I


met member aſter member almost desperate for a period of stability, calm and a chance to plan ahead with certainty. Business bodies are always calling for certainty. Te last thing we have now is certainty,” said Stuart Patrick, Chief Executive of Glasgow Chamber. Adam Marshall, Acting Director-General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said that


businesses across the UK are worried that activity will grind to a halt in the post- referendum vacuum. “My membership is exasperated with the


politicians. If you happen to find yourself in the unfortunate situation of geting divorced, you still have to get up and go to work every day,” he said, although he was referring particularly to the English-based politicians in Westminster. Glasgow Chamber called for the political


classes to work quickly and chart a path ahead. Te resignation of the Prime Minister, David Cameron, and the in-fighting among the Conservative Government was unsetling for many business figures who found the whole pantomime damaging and distasteful. Te succession into Downing Street of Teresa May as new Conservative Prime Minister is still being absorbed by the political commentators. Te Chamber was unhappy that the long-awaited decision on Heathrow’s planned expansion was delayed until aſter October. Tis dithering can only benefit the


airports and the economies of Germany, France and the Netherlands. Initially, the Governor of the Bank of


England, Mark Carney, managed to calm the jiters with measures which steadied the pound. However, in a speech at the bank,


he handed the politicians one uncomfortable truth: “Tere are limits to what the Bank of England can do. Te future potential of this economy and its implications for jobs, real wages and wealth are not the giſts of monetary policymakers.” So politicians from all sides need to step up


and make this work. “We are in a new world. We can’t now


conceivably know what that new world will look like until new leaderships are created and endorsed and new models of international trading and investment relationships debated and negotiated. Realistically, that will take months and even years,” said Mr Patrick. However, Chambers of Commerce have existed much longer than the European Union.


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