End obsession with banks, says Chambers chief
THE director general of the British Chambers of Commerce has called for an end to the “metropolitan obsession” with banks and the public sector.
Urging the Government to “set business free”, John Longworth attacked the disconnect between the value placed on public services and the disdain shown for the companies that generate the wealth that fund them.
He said together banking and public services represent less than one quarter of GDP and employment and yet the country was “fixated” with them in good and bad times.
“It is the other three quarters of our economy who ‘kept calm and carried on’. It’s the multitude of service sector businesses and manufacturers in the real economy that the Government needs to focus on and the media need to encourage. It is the three quarters who will create wealth and employment, that need to be given the confidence to invest and the freedom to grow. It is, after all, the three quarters who are paying for the sins of the one quarter.
“So here we are in difficult, economic times. Never before has it been more important that government is prepared to be bold and take radical action,” he said.
Mr Longworth used his speech at the BCC annual conference to underline its call for a range of measures in next week’s Budget including a freeze on business rates and a new time-limited capital allowance.
