1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:01,760 Speaker 1: So I think you have to be careful not to 2 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: talk ourselves into a position where we are saying that 3 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,280 Speaker 1: the UK is all at CD use your words adrift. 4 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,039 Speaker 1: I think the UK has a huge amount to offer. 5 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 1: We have a lot of extraordinary businesses and amazing talent pool. 6 00:00:14,720 --> 00:00:16,319 Speaker 1: We have to be careful, I think, not to talk 7 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:18,880 Speaker 1: ourselves into a dark spot, because that's not the UK 8 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:21,119 Speaker 1: that I think I recognize and that I think we 9 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:21,920 Speaker 1: will want to build. 10 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:26,120 Speaker 2: Do you think that government believes that it is their 11 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:29,920 Speaker 2: job to address the issues of business, because when I 12 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:33,160 Speaker 2: speak to business people, you know, these issues are well known. 13 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 2: Are they listening? 14 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,559 Speaker 1: I think it really depends where you are and what 15 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,159 Speaker 1: your sector is. You know, I hear wildly different things. 16 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:42,960 Speaker 1: People who are in my background are the kind of 17 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: high growth tech sector. They hear language coming out of 18 00:00:45,400 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 1: government about wanting to build you know, AI friendly environment. 19 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,280 Speaker 1: We're starting more digital businesses than ever before. We've got 20 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:53,479 Speaker 1: more to use the word I hate the most unicorn 21 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:57,520 Speaker 1: companies than many countries across the world and certainly in Europe. 22 00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:59,319 Speaker 1: So if you're in that sector, I think you might 23 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:01,280 Speaker 1: feel that government is really listening and that you have 24 00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:04,399 Speaker 1: you know, you understand the direction of travel, but that's 25 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 1: not true across other bits of the country and other sectors. 26 00:01:07,959 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 1: So to go back to Doncaster or where I was 27 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:12,199 Speaker 1: this week, you know, Doncas has just had its airport closed, 28 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: it didn't get the hospital that it was hoping for, 29 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:16,840 Speaker 1: and these things really impact in the local economy and 30 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,000 Speaker 1: there was extremely harsh criticism of the leveling up agenda 31 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:22,120 Speaker 1: in that area, and I think if you're sitting in 32 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:25,440 Speaker 1: certain places then you're completely right. It feels as though 33 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: maybe there aren't the priorities that you'd hope for, and 34 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,680 Speaker 1: the clarity is, you know, far from obvious. So it 35 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:32,760 Speaker 1: does really depend and that I think is a problem. 36 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: You know, the government needs to show that it's listening 37 00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: to not just one area of business but the whole 38 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,200 Speaker 1: country and really responding to the needs of businesses across 39 00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:43,319 Speaker 1: multiple different sectors. If we're going to return to the 40 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:45,880 Speaker 1: growth that we all think we want and can achieve. 41 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 2: On executive pay, would that make the difference to creating 42 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 2: more competitive businesses or businesses that would IPO in London 43 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,760 Speaker 2: as opposed to the US scale up? Is that a 44 00:01:57,840 --> 00:01:58,720 Speaker 2: key factor? 45 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: I don't know if that's the key factor. I think 46 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 1: that talent in its macro form is at fundamental right. 47 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: You know, I think the thing that perhaps has surprised 48 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:12,760 Speaker 1: me the most it's becoming president, is just not the 49 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,440 Speaker 1: need for more skills in this country, but actually it's 50 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:19,520 Speaker 1: just finding people, retaining people, making sure that we have 51 00:02:19,639 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: got the talent that we need across the whole piece. 52 00:02:21,880 --> 00:02:23,600 Speaker 1: And I would use the word there's a kind of 53 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 1: people's crisis in this country. So there's always debates, people 54 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:28,720 Speaker 1: saying we don't pay enough, we don't pay well compared 55 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: to the US. People leave this country because of pay 56 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:33,560 Speaker 1: and that possibly the case, but there are other reasons 57 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:36,320 Speaker 1: to be in the UK. It's an incredibly clement business 58 00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:38,520 Speaker 1: environment in many ways. I'm not sure it's the only 59 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:41,640 Speaker 1: piece I really I recognize for some businesses it's important. 60 00:02:42,120 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: I think the bigger challenge here is that so many 61 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: businesses are facing such a tightening of the labor market. 62 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,680 Speaker 2: In terms of that industrial strategy, do you think that 63 00:02:50,720 --> 00:02:53,840 Speaker 2: there is reluctance to dig down and actually come up 64 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:58,520 Speaker 2: with a big national economic strategy akin to Germany's or 65 00:02:58,639 --> 00:03:00,640 Speaker 2: China's or now the US is in Europe When it 66 00:03:00,639 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 2: comes to the green economy. 67 00:03:02,600 --> 00:03:04,359 Speaker 1: I don't think we're doing enough from fast enough on 68 00:03:04,400 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 1: a green economy. No. I think that, you know, the 69 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,880 Speaker 1: targets and the ambitions to reach that zero are one 70 00:03:09,919 --> 00:03:12,680 Speaker 1: part of this, but I think, you know, talking to businesses, 71 00:03:12,800 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: there's so many things we're not doing to help them 72 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,840 Speaker 1: scale up. You know. I was horrified again to go 73 00:03:17,919 --> 00:03:19,640 Speaker 1: back to some of the visits that I've made recently 74 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:21,880 Speaker 1: about the constructions just around the national grid and for 75 00:03:21,919 --> 00:03:23,840 Speaker 1: some businesses to be able even to connect to it 76 00:03:23,960 --> 00:03:27,760 Speaker 1: to enable some of their green transition. So there's plenty 77 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: more that we need to unlock, and I feel businesses 78 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,359 Speaker 1: frustration in not being able to convince government to take 79 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:36,160 Speaker 1: some of the steps to make sure that we're really 80 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:38,920 Speaker 1: building our strengths and also helping the businesses that need 81 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:40,160 Speaker 1: to transition themselves. 82 00:03:40,600 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 2: We've had quite a chaotic period of government would quite statement. 83 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 2: So I mean, I would say also over the whole 84 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 2: thirteen year period actually of conservative government, in some ways 85 00:03:51,600 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 2: you could call it quite fragile and pretty chaotic. More recently, 86 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 2: is the UK now paying the price for that fragility 87 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,200 Speaker 2: and that sort of government chaos. 88 00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:08,960 Speaker 1: I do think you need to have if not, you know, 89 00:04:10,120 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: one level of stability. Economically, you need businesses to feel 90 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:17,000 Speaker 1: most importantly that they can look ahead with certainty that 91 00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,280 Speaker 1: there's not going to be this constant rotation and chaos. 92 00:04:20,279 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 1: You know, it's business relies on certainty, and we've got 93 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:25,640 Speaker 1: lots of people that want to invest in this country, 94 00:04:25,640 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 1: but they want to see that this country is not 95 00:04:27,360 --> 00:04:30,480 Speaker 1: going to go through these immense periods of chaos as 96 00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: you've described. You know, I would argue that we have 97 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:35,080 Speaker 1: had periods of stability, of course, you know, the coalition government. 98 00:04:35,080 --> 00:04:36,680 Speaker 1: Now when we look back on it, I think feels 99 00:04:36,720 --> 00:04:39,720 Speaker 1: like a period of certainty over the last thirteen years 100 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: that you know, we haven't enjoyed in the last five 101 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,000 Speaker 1: or six. So yes, of course we need to have that, 102 00:04:45,200 --> 00:04:48,080 Speaker 1: and I really hope that whatever the results the next election, 103 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:50,960 Speaker 1: we will look on the global stage as like a 104 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:54,920 Speaker 1: country that has sorted out its political and the meanderings, 105 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: to use some other generous word, and gives confidence both 106 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: for inward investment and the internal investment that we need.