POLITICS INSIDE


WESTMINSTER


Neil O’Brien, MP for Harborough, on supporting Britain’s businesses.


Why we must back British businesses


British business, and Britain’s economy, have come a long way in the past couple of years. In 2010 we had a broken economy. Unemployment had soared by half a million. Good businesses were going under. The financial system was crippled and the Government was borrowing more than ever before in our peacetime history. In fact a quarter of what the Government spent each years was borrowed. What a contrast now. By controlling the


“We don’t even know yet when it’s going to


happen. Mrs May might win the vote to have the departure time and date enshrined in UK law, but if there is then a transition period we will continue to be part of the EU and subject to its rules, regulations and directives for the whole of that transition. “In the event of no deal being agreed,


however, it could make Friday 30 March 2019 an interesting day as everything will change, quite literally, overnight. “While I don’t buy in to the ‘end of days’


scenarios that some paint, there will undoubtedly be significant adjustments to be made. How these changes play out in individual businesses will differ from sector to sector, between large and small, and based on the complexities of supply-chains and customer relationships. “Whatever else happens businesses must start


doing the groundwork now to make sure that any negative impact is kept to a minimum and that any opportunities arising from Brexit are both identified and grasped. “Changes aside, there’s also an important


point to be made about process. As with the general public, there isn’t a consensus among the business community as to what the perfect end scenario looks like. There is also more than one school of thought when it comes to negotiation strategy. “However, talking to members there is an


almost universal feeling that the current spectacle of claim and counter-claim, contradiction and public spats in Westminster is unedifying and doesn’t instil confidence. “Whatever happens over coming months,


Parliament needs to demonstrate to the business community and our international partners that they can get business done the right way and with the country’s best interests in mind.”


bloated spending that had built up under Labour we have been able to cut tax on businesses - corporation tax is down from 28% and will fall to 17%. Many small businesses have been lifted out of paying business rates altogether and we must keep going. To keep business flowing we are making record investments in rail and the biggest road building programme for a generation. Controlling the tax burden and backing Britain’s entrepreneurs has helped British


‘Don’t let anyone say business isn’t a force for good in this country’


business slash the dole queues. A thousand jobs have been created every day, employment is at an all-time high and we have a more equal society - inequality at a 30- year low. Don’t let anyone say business isn’t a force for good in this country. Sadly, in the House of Commons, I hear a very different view. Labour Shadow


Chancellor John McDonnell, who proudly describes himself as a “Marxist”, paints a picture of British businesspeople as crooked, exploitative Victorian villains. Unsurprisingly, given their world view, Labour’s manifesto called for a 9p-in-the-pound


increase in tax of business profits - both big and small business would pay more. That would be just the start under a Labour Government. I don’t recognise the picture of British business they try to paint. The business people


in my constituency work their guts out, take risks to start their business and make sacrifices if things don’t work out. For many businesses in my constituency, staff are treated like members of the family. We are living in a brutally competitive world today - competition is intense. That’s why


I’m glad to see the Government’s industrial strategy backing investment in science and technology to keep us ahead of the competition, fixing our broken technical education system so that businesses can get the skilled people they need. Here’s what I want to see next. First, Brexit has to be business-friendly. We need to grab the opportunities to stop the


growth of red tape and make sure we get a good trade deal. Second, we need to think about how to reform business rates for the age of internet shopping. Third, we need to keep fighting the scourge of late payments to small business for


which cash flow is tricky. We’re making bigger businesses start being transparent about how they treat small suppliers. I want to see them behave fairly and if they don’t we will go further to ensure fair play. Our businesses have played a massive part in fixing the problems politicians created in the last decade. We need to get behind them - not treat them like villains.


ABOUT NEIL O’BRIEN Neil O'Brien was elected to represent Harborough for the Conservatives in the 2017 General Election. A former Director of Policy Exchange and Open Europe, he was hired by former Chancellor George Osborne in November 2012 to become one of his special advisers, serving on the Council of Economic Advisers at the Treasury. At the Treasury, Neil was tasked with developing the next generation of policies to help inform the Tory Manifesto in 2015. In August 2016, Prime Minister Theresa May appointed Neil as the lead on the Northern Powerhouse, Midlands Engine and Industrial Strategy in the Number 10 Policy Unit, a position he held until he became an MP.


business network December 2017/January 2018 33


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