Chamber kicks off pre-election campaign
MANCHESTER Chamber of Commerce is kicking off its General Election campaign this week, with a pledge to highlight key business issues concerning members.
The organisation is launching its Campaign for Business 2015 on Friday and it is focused on five topics devolution; infrastructure; skills and employment; finance and taxation and trade.
One of the first issues which will feature over the next few months is digital infrastructure. The Chamber wants the government to create a dedicated business-specific high-speed broadband strategy – not an ‘add-on’ to domestic services. Such an approach has been effective in Finland and South Korea, it says.
It will also lobby the next government to treat digital infrastructure as a utility, in terms of regulation, planning and tax regimes and launch a full-scale review of the current market, including issues such as a lack of competition in some locations and future growth requirements of the digital sector.
Craig Dean, chief executive of Web Applications UK and Oldham local president at the chamber said: “A trawl through statements made by our policy-makers demonstrates a complete lack of understanding about the subtleties around internet connectivity.
WIt seems impossible to have vital discussions about improving our digital infrastructure when few understand the difference between 2Mb and 200Mbit, never mind the importance of upload speeds to companies trading over the internet.
“This leads to an overly cosy relationship between regulators and the ISP industry and needs to be addressed urgently. There are huge factors affecting our future ability to compete in the digital age, from net neutrality, to the importance of fibre to the premise versus fibre to the cabinet.”
The Campaign for Business 2015 has been created after close dialogue with members. Director of policy and campaigns Chirs Fletcher said: “This is the most accurate and comprehensive business campaign document we have produced.
“Once the new government is elected in May our work doesn’t stop. We must make sure that whoever is successful, they deliver what is best for business in Greater Manchester.”
