West Midlands business congratulates Labour on landslide General Election victory

Following Labour's landslide victory in the General Election, Sarah Moorhouse, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, issued congratulations on its behalf saying: "Given the challenges of recent years, businesses want to see economic stability, so they will be pleased to see clarity regarding the direction of the country.

"They will also now be looking closely at the policies that will affect their organisations moving forward."

Henrietta Brealey, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, said: “We congratulate Keir Starmer and the Labour Party on their decisive victory on a night of historical significance.

“From a local perspective, we would also like to congratulate the MPs that have been elected across the region and pay tribute to those who have lost their seats – many have worked closely with the chamber over the years to understand and recognise the needs of the local business community.

“Throughout the last 14 years, we’ve witnessed a series of seismic occurrences which have shifted the economic and political contours of the region ranging from the introduction of combined authority Mayors to Brexit, Covid-19 and more recently the energy crisis and its subsequent impact on inflation and interest rates.

“Right now businesses across the country will be craving a period of relative stability so they can plan and invest for the future.

“Nevertheless, it’s clear the new Government will be inheriting major challenges– acute fiscal pressures, stagnant growth levels, low levels of investment and a prosperity gap between the north and south of the country that shows few signs of narrowing.

“Within this context, there will be no honeymoon period for the incoming administration – businesses will need to see a clear plan of action that will drive investor confidence and prosperity from the outset.

“In particular, strong and decisive leadership will be required from the new Prime Minister to shift the dial on devolution, ease firm level cost pressures, harness technology to improve public services, strengthen our infrastructure networks and cultivate strong trading ties with Europe and further afield.”

Matt Buckingham, practice lead for Grant Thornton UK in the West Midlands, said: “It’s simple enough to say that business growth needs to be a priority, but the realities of driving up GDP are obviously challenging in the current climate. The UK is the sixth largest economy in the world and the second in Europe and, as a region, the West Midlands has plenty of strengths to build upon that will help make the most of the opportunities that undoubtedly exist in multiple sectors.

"This is an era of profound technological change, with the advance of AI and supercomputing gaining pace all the time, while the transition to cleaner ways of living and working needs to speed up. Our latest Business Outlook Tracker told us that the region’s local business community wants to see the new government focus on measures to improve infrastructure, reducing regulation and red tape and investing in skills and training, to support business growth.

"We wish the new Government every success in addressing these issues and encourage it to work in collaboration with business.”

Rain Newton-Smith, the Confederation of British Industry's chief executive, said: “Congratulations to Sir Keir Starmer and the Labour Party. Delivering sustainable growth should be the defining mission for the new government. Business stands ready to bring its innovation, ideas, and investment to make that shared mission a reality.

“The new Prime Minister has been given a clear mandate to take the tough decisions on areas like planning reform and boosting grid capacity needed to get the economy firing on all cylinders. What firms need now is a government that’s ready to hit the ground running and is laser-focused on delivery."

Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, Shevaun Haviland, pledged to work in partnership with the new Government to boost the economy.

“Congratulations to the Labour Party on their victory after a long and hard-fought campaign. The public have delivered them a clear and decisive parliamentary majority – hopefully they will use this mandate to provide the stability and certainty businesses crave.

Stephen Morley, president of the West Bromwich-based Confederation of British Metalforming, the leading trade association for UK manufacturers of fasteners, forgings and pressings, cold-rolled and sheet-metal products, said: “My first bit of advice to our new Prime Minister is to stop telling everyone that your dad was a ‘toolmaker’ and your family were poor. This is putting young people off following a career in manufacturing, a career that can be well paid and take you all over the world. We need more toolmakers, designers, quality engineers, procurement specialist and CNC operators and it will give you a good life.

"Like many in our sector, we would love to see a long-term industrial strategy that plays to the UK strengths and acknowledges the challenges we face. Ideally, we’d like to see something that is cross-party or has a Royal Charter that ensures longevity regardless of the political persuasion.

"A dedicated Minister for Manufacturing is a campaign the CBM has added our voice to and could be an early win if Labour wanted to show a willingness to place new importance on a sector that drives innovation, supports GDP and creates high-skilled jobs. There must, however, be a clear recognition of SMEs and a desire to look past the B5 lobbying groups, giving a vital part of the economy the recognition it deserves.

"The impact of leaving the EU continues to bring widespread disruption to UK manufacturing, yet not one party in the lead-up put forward a potential resolution. This is something that Keir Starmer needs to address urgently.

"Finally, skills…skills…skills. We urgently need a review of the Apprenticeship Levy and how funding in this pot can be spent. There needs to be more creativity and an ability to allow manufacturers to spend it on different types of technical courses that they specifically need and will create the employees they require."

Tony Hague, chief executive of PP Control & Automation, Cheslyn Hay, one of the UK’s leading strategic manufacturing outsourcing specialists, said: “There was no real surprise with today’s election result. Conservatives have paid a heavy price for many years of ineffectiveness, personified by the Liz Truss mini budget that rocked the economy and left many of us still paying the financial price. After 14 years of the same government, a change was almost inevitable.

"In truth, the current Labour manifesto is fairly central and balanced, albeit the concern of increased taxes is always there.

"From a UK manufacturing perspective, we await with interest what positive steps they may take in the short and long-term. Some relatively easy decisions that could have a big impact, include a revised R&D policy, a review on Corporation Tax and more sustained support for SMEs around export."

Gareth Jones, managing director of In-Comm Training, which provides more than 2,500 apprenticeships and training opportunities across its two technical academies in Aldridge and Telford, said: “To be fair to the Conservatives, they did put apprenticeships back on the map and reignite its credibility among learners, parents and employers.

"This was no small feat, but now the baton has been passed to Labour to build on this evolution and there have already been some big promises leading up to this election – widening the scope of the Apprenticeship Levy would be a very welcome move for example."

Johnathan Dudley, partner and head of manufacturing at accountancy firm Crowe, which has its Midlands office in Oldbury, said: "We have set out a clear agenda for the new government to deliver manufacturing success in our manifesto. Real ideas from real manufacturers.

"I’m looking forward to a period where lower inflation will drive lower interest rates and the commercial economic growth that the country so desperately needs."

Matt Beckley, head of development at Keon Homes, Chaserown, said: "“There has been a lot of uncertainty in the market and that doesn’t suit anyone – what we would really love to see is stability in the first instance.

"Going forward, there needs to be some form of planning application reform to cut down the time it takes to get developments off the ground. At the moment, it can take anything up to two years to get things through and that just isn’t feasible for our sector.

"Other welcome measures would be a long-term housing strategy, extensions to the Affordable Homes Grant programme and some first-time buyer policies to get people on the ladder."

Matthew Hunter, industrial director at MET Recruitment, one of the Black Country’s leading recruitment agencies, said: "The Labour manifesto speaks about raising National Minimum Wage again and removing the age breakdown. This basically means 18-year-olds could be on a starting salary of £24,000.

"It’s a great incentive for getting people into work and making roles more appealing, however companies across the region must be wincing at the financial implications of this proposed move. How do they fill the labour gaps whilst making sure manufacturing products in the UK is still competitive?"

Organisers of UK Construction Week,taking place at the Birmingham National Exhibition Centre, from October 1 to 3, have sent their congratulations to Sir Keir Starmer on his victory, along with an open invitation to speak at the show.

Sam Patel, divisional director – construction, said: “The theme for UKCW Birmingham 2024 is ‘Growth’, and we hope the new Labour Government will quickly set to work on delivering on its manifesto promises on homebuilding, fast track approvals of urban brownfield sites and updating the National Policy Planning Framework.”