Rishi Sunak was hanging a “UK is open for business” banner over Hampton Court today as he sought to persuade the world’s investors to direct their funding towards the rainy island off the north west coast of Europe.
Interesting choice of venue. Historic, yes, impressive, undoubtedly, but hardly giving off 21st century cutting edge AI vibes. The main cutting edge associated with Hampton Court was the axe used by Henry VIII to bring about the untimely demise of assorted wives and councillors.
Today’s investment conference is the latest initiative aimed at meeting the Tory Right’s demand for a supply-side revolution to kick-start growth.
The Autumn Statement supposedly delivered 110 initiatives, with the cuts in business tax at the heart of that.
But it will take far more than a confetti sprinkling of gimmicks and announcements to reverse the years of bad decision-making, poor governance and sheer bad luck that have got us here.
The Johnson/Truss years did untold damage to the reputation on the financial world stage that Sunak and Hunt are only now starting to address.
Brexit, whether right or wrong, ripped up Britain’s place in the world geopolitical order. It will take years for a new role to emerge.
The City’s financial markets are moribund and lacklustre with the excitement of previous decades proving hard to revive despite umpteen reviews and strategies.
So while it is good that the PM can put the spotlight on investing in the UK for a few hours, it does not contribute much towards a supply-side revolution.
The problems are profound and much more to do with far bigger issues such as education, training and housing.
Until Sunak can articulate a more compelling message on how the UK can move forward to growth and prosperity then gimmicky summits at tourist sites such as Hampton Court and Bletchley Park are unlikely to make much difference.
