WEBVTT - Britain Adrift Interview: Martha Lane Fox on a People's Crisis

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<v Speaker 1>So I think you have to be careful not to

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<v Speaker 1>talk ourselves into a position where we are saying that

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<v Speaker 1>the UK is all at CD use your words adrift.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the UK has a huge amount to offer.

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<v Speaker 1>We have a lot of extraordinary businesses and amazing talent pool.

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<v Speaker 1>We have to be careful, I think, not to talk

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves into a dark spot, because that's not the UK

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<v Speaker 1>that I think I recognize and that I think we

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<v Speaker 1>will want to build.

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<v Speaker 2>Do you think that government believes that it is their

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<v Speaker 2>job to address the issues of business, because when I

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<v Speaker 2>speak to business people, you know, these issues are well known.

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<v Speaker 2>Are they listening?

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<v Speaker 1>I think it really depends where you are and what

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<v Speaker 1>your sector is. You know, I hear wildly different things.

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<v Speaker 1>People who are in my background are the kind of

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<v Speaker 1>high growth tech sector. They hear language coming out of

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<v Speaker 1>government about wanting to build you know, AI friendly environment.

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<v Speaker 1>We're starting more digital businesses than ever before. We've got

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<v Speaker 1>more to use the word I hate the most unicorn

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<v Speaker 1>companies than many countries across the world and certainly in Europe.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you're in that sector, I think you might

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<v Speaker 1>feel that government is really listening and that you have

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<v Speaker 1>you know, you understand the direction of travel, but that's

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<v Speaker 1>not true across other bits of the country and other sectors.

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<v Speaker 1>So to go back to Doncaster or where I was

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<v Speaker 1>this week, you know, Doncas has just had its airport closed,

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<v Speaker 1>it didn't get the hospital that it was hoping for,

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<v Speaker 1>and these things really impact in the local economy and

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<v Speaker 1>there was extremely harsh criticism of the leveling up agenda

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<v Speaker 1>in that area, and I think if you're sitting in

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<v Speaker 1>certain places then you're completely right. It feels as though

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<v Speaker 1>maybe there aren't the priorities that you'd hope for, and

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<v Speaker 1>the clarity is, you know, far from obvious. So it

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<v Speaker 1>does really depend and that I think is a problem.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, the government needs to show that it's listening

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<v Speaker 1>to not just one area of business but the whole

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<v Speaker 1>country and really responding to the needs of businesses across

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<v Speaker 1>multiple different sectors. If we're going to return to the

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<v Speaker 1>growth that we all think we want and can achieve.

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<v Speaker 2>On executive pay, would that make the difference to creating

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<v Speaker 2>more competitive businesses or businesses that would IPO in London

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<v Speaker 2>as opposed to the US scale up? Is that a

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<v Speaker 2>key factor?

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know if that's the key factor. I think

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<v Speaker 1>that talent in its macro form is at fundamental right.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I think the thing that perhaps has surprised

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<v Speaker 1>me the most it's becoming president, is just not the

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<v Speaker 1>need for more skills in this country, but actually it's

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<v Speaker 1>just finding people, retaining people, making sure that we have

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<v Speaker 1>got the talent that we need across the whole piece.

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<v Speaker 1>And I would use the word there's a kind of

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<v Speaker 1>people's crisis in this country. So there's always debates, people

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<v Speaker 1>saying we don't pay enough, we don't pay well compared

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<v Speaker 1>to the US. People leave this country because of pay

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<v Speaker 1>and that possibly the case, but there are other reasons

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<v Speaker 1>to be in the UK. It's an incredibly clement business

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<v Speaker 1>environment in many ways. I'm not sure it's the only

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<v Speaker 1>piece I really I recognize for some businesses it's important.

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<v Speaker 1>I think the bigger challenge here is that so many

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<v Speaker 1>businesses are facing such a tightening of the labor market.

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<v Speaker 2>In terms of that industrial strategy, do you think that

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<v Speaker 2>there is reluctance to dig down and actually come up

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<v Speaker 2>with a big national economic strategy akin to Germany's or

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<v Speaker 2>China's or now the US is in Europe When it

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<v Speaker 2>comes to the green economy.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think we're doing enough from fast enough on

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<v Speaker 1>a green economy. No. I think that, you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>targets and the ambitions to reach that zero are one

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<v Speaker 1>part of this, but I think, you know, talking to businesses,

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<v Speaker 1>there's so many things we're not doing to help them

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<v Speaker 1>scale up. You know. I was horrified again to go

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<v Speaker 1>back to some of the visits that I've made recently

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<v Speaker 1>about the constructions just around the national grid and for

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<v Speaker 1>some businesses to be able even to connect to it

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<v Speaker 1>to enable some of their green transition. So there's plenty

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<v Speaker 1>more that we need to unlock, and I feel businesses

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<v Speaker 1>frustration in not being able to convince government to take

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<v Speaker 1>some of the steps to make sure that we're really

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<v Speaker 1>building our strengths and also helping the businesses that need

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<v Speaker 1>to transition themselves.

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<v Speaker 2>We've had quite a chaotic period of government would quite statement.

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<v Speaker 2>So I mean, I would say also over the whole

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<v Speaker 2>thirteen year period actually of conservative government, in some ways

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<v Speaker 2>you could call it quite fragile and pretty chaotic. More recently,

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<v Speaker 2>is the UK now paying the price for that fragility

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<v Speaker 2>and that sort of government chaos.

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<v Speaker 1>I do think you need to have if not, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>one level of stability. Economically, you need businesses to feel

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<v Speaker 1>most importantly that they can look ahead with certainty that

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<v Speaker 1>there's not going to be this constant rotation and chaos.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, it's business relies on certainty, and we've got

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<v Speaker 1>lots of people that want to invest in this country,

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<v Speaker 1>but they want to see that this country is not

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<v Speaker 1>going to go through these immense periods of chaos as

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<v Speaker 1>you've described. You know, I would argue that we have

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<v Speaker 1>had periods of stability, of course, you know, the coalition government.

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<v Speaker 1>Now when we look back on it, I think feels

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<v Speaker 1>like a period of certainty over the last thirteen years

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<v Speaker 1>that you know, we haven't enjoyed in the last five

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<v Speaker 1>or six. So yes, of course we need to have that,

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<v Speaker 1>and I really hope that whatever the results the next election,

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<v Speaker 1>we will look on the global stage as like a

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<v Speaker 1>country that has sorted out its political and the meanderings,

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<v Speaker 1>to use some other generous word, and gives confidence both

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<v Speaker 1>for inward investment and the internal investment that we need.