WEBVTT - UK Business Lobby Boss Shevaun Haviland Talks Andy Burnham, Growth 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:02.400 Semil and Halvlan. Thank you so much for joining me. 0:00:02.880 --> 0:00:04.880 I want to get in straight away to a conversation 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:08.399 around what the shape of the next UK government might 0:00:08.480 --> 0:00:12.840 look like. How much time does Andy Burnham have to 0:00:12.960 --> 0:00:16.600 turn the tides you think and to help UK businesses? 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:18.360 Well, good morning. 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:22.560 Andy Burnham has what two and a half years to 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:25.439 the next general election, so he has a very short 0:00:25.480 --> 0:00:30.800 amount of time to turn the tide. He You know, 0:00:30.840 --> 0:00:33.800 whoever comes into Downing Street next is going to face 0:00:33.840 --> 0:00:36.720 the same challenges that we are currently looking at. 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:38.000 And what he. 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:43.000 Needs to have laser focus on is delivering economic growth. 0:00:43.120 --> 0:00:45.120 And why is that the case? 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:49.800 Because growing businesses mean more jobs, which means more taxes 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:52.080 back to the chances, and which means more money to 0:00:52.120 --> 0:00:55.640 pay for teachers and nurses. Right the fiscal tights fiscal 0:00:55.640 --> 0:00:58.400 situation that government is in, so that needs to be 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:00.320 his number one. 0:01:00.520 --> 0:01:00.840 Okay. 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:04.520 When Kirs Sarma came into government, we gave him a 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:06.800 little bit strangely one hundred days and it's based on 0:01:06.840 --> 0:01:09.800 the US system. Does Burnham get that much time this 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:10.480 time round? 0:01:12.000 --> 0:01:12.399 I think so. 0:01:12.520 --> 0:01:15.199 I think that's only one hundred days is probably only fair. 0:01:15.560 --> 0:01:18.240 You know, we are all of course still waiting to 0:01:18.280 --> 0:01:24.120 see and in Burnham lay out his economic strategy. We 0:01:24.240 --> 0:01:27.280 of course have been delighted to advise him on what 0:01:27.319 --> 0:01:29.800 we think is going on. You know, at the Chambers, 0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:33.600 I have the delight of traveling the country meeting businesses 0:01:33.720 --> 0:01:36.480 week in and week out, and they will tell me 0:01:36.520 --> 0:01:39.080 the same thing, which is at the moment they are 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:44.560 really are really struggling. You know, Successive governments have added 0:01:44.680 --> 0:01:47.840 more and more cost to business. We estimate there's been 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:50.760 a seventy percent increase in cost of business over ten years. 0:01:51.240 --> 0:01:54.120 You know. More recently we've seen increases national insurance and 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:55.920 in A wages gone up forty five percent in the 0:01:56.000 --> 0:02:00.760 last five years. It is really hard and we are 0:02:01.640 --> 0:02:05.440 shackling that ambition. With that tsunami of costs, we are 0:02:05.480 --> 0:02:10.120 not going to see growth. So A, the government needs 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.680 to look very quickly at how we can relieve some 0:02:12.800 --> 0:02:15.240 of that. But what I'm going to talk about today 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:18.560 at our global conference where we have seven hundred businesses 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:21.760 in the q ET Center, is actually there are some 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:26.520 leavers that government need to pour very quickly around increasing trade, 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:32.519 helping sme supply chains and really helping UKPLC adopt AIS 0:02:32.560 --> 0:02:33.520 it's coming down the track. 0:02:33.880 --> 0:02:36.480 Okay. Can we be honest about how bad it was 0:02:36.520 --> 0:02:42.000 for business under kised Arma, tanking, confidence, dismal growth, raising taxes. 0:02:42.120 --> 0:02:45.720 The Starma government was pretty bad, wasn't it for British business? 0:02:45.760 --> 0:02:46.760 Is that how you see it? 0:02:48.600 --> 0:02:52.120 The current government are now outgoing government. 0:02:52.280 --> 0:02:58.200 Look had some difficult they had some difficult geopolitical headwinds. 0:02:59.280 --> 0:03:02.720 Adapt to. They did some good things, but they did 0:03:02.760 --> 0:03:04.600 some things that really were hard for business. 0:03:04.600 --> 0:03:07.800 So the national insurance increase, we expected an increase, but 0:03:07.919 --> 0:03:11.239 not as much as that, and not with increasing the threshold. 0:03:12.480 --> 0:03:14.560 The idea was of course that then the government we're 0:03:14.560 --> 0:03:16.560 going to do some other things to help business. So 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:20.280 we did see some great stuff on more infrastructure being 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:24.160 signed off, you know, expansion of Heathrow, Gatwick, Northern Powerhouse, rail, 0:03:24.280 --> 0:03:26.880 new nuclear, et cetera. And that's really good for local 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:30.640 supply chains. We saw free trade agreements being signed. You know, 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:34.640 we need to make those useful for business. But the 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:40.160 additional taxes along with global tariffs et cetera. Businesses haven't 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:42.480 yet managed to recover from that. And as I said, 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:46.400 successive governments have added cost to business and we we 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:48.119 really feel like we're at breaking. 0:03:47.840 --> 0:03:53.640 Point, breaking point? Okay, what happens if an incoming administration 0:03:53.840 --> 0:03:56.160 it seems highly likely that it will be led by 0:03:56.240 --> 0:04:01.520 Andy Burnham. What happens if that incoming UK government becomes 0:04:01.600 --> 0:04:04.520 even more left wing than what we've seen before? Would 0:04:04.520 --> 0:04:05.120 that be worse? 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:07.160 What do you mean by left wing? 0:04:07.440 --> 0:04:10.640 Well in terms of you know, the possibility of higher 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:15.480 taxes for higher spending. Would the BCC, for example, be 0:04:15.600 --> 0:04:19.640 in favor of a major spending plan for UK infrastructure, 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:21.560 even if that means boring. 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:27.279 More So, any new government has to have economic growth 0:04:27.279 --> 0:04:33.599 as it's number one focus. Literally, increasing taxes for business 0:04:33.880 --> 0:04:38.039 will be a road to ruin. There is absolutely no 0:04:38.120 --> 0:04:40.200 way that increasing tax and business is going to get 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:42.919 anywhere near economic growth, and we are just going to 0:04:43.000 --> 0:04:47.280 spiral down more lack of confidence from business, more holding 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:48.840 onto their money, lack of investment. 0:04:48.960 --> 0:04:50.120 It is a vicious circle. 0:04:50.560 --> 0:04:53.599 So we absolutely have to see no new tax for 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:57.640 business on the On the upside, there are a huge 0:04:57.680 --> 0:05:02.120 number of opportunities. So we have fantastic businesses. Entrepreneurial can 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:06.680 do solution orientated. They want to be let go to 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:10.840 drive economic growth. They want opportunities for infrastructure, for example, 0:05:10.960 --> 0:05:14.479 so if you look at Size well C Nuclear Power 0:05:14.480 --> 0:05:18.080 Building Suffolk, the Chamber helped build a supply chain there. 0:05:18.160 --> 0:05:22.400 They've put one point four billion into local businesses through 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:23.440 Size World project. 0:05:23.680 --> 0:05:24.880 That's incredible for. 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:27.800 The local economy. You know, we can see more of 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:31.000 that across the country. If we help businesses trade more 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:33.120 around the world, that's actually the quickest way to growth 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:36.640 the economy. There are huge opportunities for ukpoc our businesses 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:40.560 are amazing. They just need to be released to make 0:05:40.600 --> 0:05:41.440 the most of that ambition. 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:44.400 Okay, it's no secret that you're president of the BCC 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:48.040 is Andy hal Dane, that he is advising the Burnham 0:05:48.120 --> 0:05:51.760 team alongside others including Jim O'Neil. That's going to put 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:54.720 particular focus, I think on what Andy hal Dane has 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:57.760 to say at your conference, you know, in a few 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:02.320 hours time, in terms of that advice no new taxes 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:04.719 and all the other bits of advice that, to be honest, 0:06:04.720 --> 0:06:08.120 you've given many times before to governments. Is it going 0:06:08.200 --> 0:06:12.839 to be more clearly heard and actually adopted in your view, well. 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:17.520 I think the challenges that these countries have are having 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:21.800 are pretty clear, and our political turmoil is a reflection 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:23.960 of what is working or not working. 0:06:24.040 --> 0:06:25.200 So I think the. 0:06:25.200 --> 0:06:28.280 New government would be very wise to listen to the 0:06:28.320 --> 0:06:31.400 great advice of people like Andy Haldane, obviously a great 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:35.520 economic mind. As the Chambers of Commerce, we work with 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:39.720 politicians of all colors to give them advice on how 0:06:39.760 --> 0:06:42.880 to help grow the economy what businesses need to see. 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:46.240 So we are looking forward to working with whoever's in 0:06:46.279 --> 0:06:49.200 the chair at number ten because the same issues are 0:06:49.200 --> 0:06:50.800 going to be there for the next person coming in. 0:06:51.000 --> 0:06:53.240 Okay, who do you think your members would want to 0:06:53.279 --> 0:06:56.720 see as chancellor? Are they as anti ed Millerband as 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:58.359 the City of London seems to be. 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:02.760 So for us, it's not about personalities. You know, Andy 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.800 Burnham will choose his cabinet. It's about policies and it's 0:07:05.800 --> 0:07:09.600 about what those people do in those roles, and it's 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:16.080 about ensuring that across government that everybody is focused on 0:07:16.120 --> 0:07:18.440 the same thing. You know, we have seen some really 0:07:18.480 --> 0:07:22.040 good stuff with this government. We've also seen some difficult parts. 0:07:22.040 --> 0:07:24.720 We've got the Employment Rights Act still coming down the track. 0:07:24.760 --> 0:07:26.680 We have going to make sure that works for business. 0:07:27.320 --> 0:07:31.080 At the moment the government themselves suggests that's one billion 0:07:31.120 --> 0:07:33.800 pound extra price tag for business, so we need to 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:38.160 make sure that doesn't hobble growth. So whoever's in that role, 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:40.240 they just need to be clear on what we need 0:07:40.280 --> 0:07:41.800 to deliver for the country. Yeah. 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.360 I mean the pick though of the individual chance and 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:47.640 who that is is obviously hugely important as a signal 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:51.160 for what the government is going to look like in 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:54.080 terms of the shape of its policies. Do you think 0:07:54.160 --> 0:07:56.800 that if it is Andy Burnham who leads the government, 0:07:57.560 --> 0:08:01.160 do you think he's going to lower costs for businesses? 0:08:01.920 --> 0:08:04.160 I think if you look at what Andy Burnham's done 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:08.080 in his role in Manchester, what you'll see is a 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:12.040 really strong partnership between the public sector and the private sector, 0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:15.600 so real public private partnership and growing the city and 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:19.320 getting things done because I think we you know, ideas 0:08:19.320 --> 0:08:21.520 are great, but actually we're really in a place now 0:08:21.520 --> 0:08:25.360 we've got to deliver and you know, structures like the 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:28.200 Shames of Commerce that Andy's Burnham's work with in Manchester, 0:08:28.360 --> 0:08:31.120 these are the infrastructure we have to make this stuff happen. 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:36.440 So whoever he picks as Chancellor and Business Secretary and 0:08:36.480 --> 0:08:39.000 the rest of his cabinet, you know, our message to 0:08:39.040 --> 0:08:42.640 them is work with us. Work in partnership with us. 0:08:42.880 --> 0:08:45.960 You can see it's worked in Manchester. We can help 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:48.480 deliver this much more quickly in a way you need. 0:08:49.480 --> 0:08:52.080 You have a lot of the political parties that all 0:08:52.120 --> 0:08:57.079 the major political parties joining at your conference, Polanski, Generic, Stride, Davy, 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:03.640 are any of them offering more realistic policy proposals? I 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:09.240 say realistic because the recent criticism at previous elections has 0:09:09.280 --> 0:09:12.600 been that parties are not grappling with the realities of 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:15.760 Britain's economic situation. Do you think that in this current 0:09:15.800 --> 0:09:19.599 climate there are policies in any of those other political 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:23.240 parties that have great appeal with your business members. 0:09:24.760 --> 0:09:29.079 Well, having all five political parties with us today, Caroline, 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.160 is the first time we've done this, and I think 0:09:31.200 --> 0:09:34.000 it's probably the first time for a major business conference. 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:37.680 And we've done this because it reflects you know, multi 0:09:37.679 --> 0:09:41.520 party politics in the UK now and actually it's going 0:09:41.600 --> 0:09:44.880 to be It's obviously interesting for those people to hear 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:47.400 from the business in the room. But what the reason 0:09:47.440 --> 0:09:50.720 we've invited them is so they can lay out what 0:09:50.920 --> 0:09:54.360 their business friendly policies are going to be. They can 0:09:54.440 --> 0:09:56.760 lay out what they are going to do to drive 0:09:56.800 --> 0:09:59.440 the economy because we haven't heard from most of them 0:09:59.679 --> 0:10:02.720 for some time in that sort of really clear laid 0:10:02.720 --> 0:10:05.120 out way, so I'm really looking forward to hearing from 0:10:05.120 --> 0:10:05.400 them all. 0:10:05.840 --> 0:10:09.559 How much you think social media is reshaping business confidence 0:10:09.600 --> 0:10:10.160 in Britain. 0:10:11.840 --> 0:10:12.880 Oh, that's a good question. 0:10:13.720 --> 0:10:16.520 Not something we necessarily talk to our members about a 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:19.840 great deal, but of course from a personal and business 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:22.520 point of view, we are all using that. We're using 0:10:22.520 --> 0:10:25.000 that to communicate what we do as businesses to grow 0:10:25.040 --> 0:10:29.040 our businesses marketing, sales, etc. I mean, it's I mean, 0:10:29.480 --> 0:10:32.199 you and I've been around a while, so it's massively changed. 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:34.160 You know. This is the second time round with AI. 0:10:34.880 --> 0:10:37.280 We talked a lot to our businesses about how they're 0:10:37.320 --> 0:10:40.880 adopting AI think that we are seeing a huge increase 0:10:40.880 --> 0:10:44.880 in adoption, but it's a lot more still about helping 0:10:44.920 --> 0:10:47.480 me write my emails and it is re engineering my 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:51.360 business processes and there's a huge productivity gain if we 0:10:51.360 --> 0:10:53.160 can get this right for UKLPLC. 0:10:53.400 --> 0:10:55.880 So that's really where we're helping them focus At the moment. 0:10:56.280 --> 0:10:58.439 I wanted to ask you about social media because you've 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:01.760 talked a lot about confidence and the main issue, as 0:11:01.800 --> 0:11:05.280 you see it is that Britain needs to be more confident. 0:11:05.360 --> 0:11:07.840 Businesses want more confidence and that is the thing that 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:12.839 then unlocks investment and economic growth. And so you know, 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.720 when you see as the labor Mayor of London City 0:11:16.800 --> 0:11:19.679 KHN has said, you know, targeted social media as and 0:11:19.920 --> 0:11:25.520 campaigns against, for example, cities like London, you know, really 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:29.760 talking down London and the UK is a place to live. 0:11:29.920 --> 0:11:36.040 Those sorts of social media driven issues which maybe don't 0:11:36.280 --> 0:11:38.480 a lot of people feel don't reflect the reality. I 0:11:38.520 --> 0:11:41.400 suppose that's what I'm asking, that kind of criticism, that 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:45.760 talking down of the UK, whether that's a worry for 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:47.520 you confidence wise. 0:11:47.840 --> 0:11:49.200 So it is a worry. 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:51.959 And actually when we travel around the world we do 0:11:52.040 --> 0:11:55.600 hear that people do. I have been asked about it, 0:11:56.080 --> 0:11:58.959 and hence we feed that back to the London Chamber, 0:11:59.000 --> 0:12:02.400 to the mayor and really delighted to see him standing 0:12:02.440 --> 0:12:04.680 up and stepping out and being loud and proud for 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:07.360 London as we are for London and the whole of 0:12:07.400 --> 0:12:10.040 the UK when we travel around around the world. 0:12:10.480 --> 0:12:11.400 And I think. 0:12:11.400 --> 0:12:15.680 Those on the right side of facts need to be 0:12:15.720 --> 0:12:19.520 a lot louder and prouder on social media too. But 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:23.800 I would say that bram Britain is still very strong 0:12:24.080 --> 0:12:26.920 around the world. So when I turn up in different places, 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.520 people are really delighted to see Team UK there. I 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.200 think that's a really positive for UK business and we 0:12:32.240 --> 0:12:33.559 need to keep making the most of that. 0:12:34.480 --> 0:12:38.000 Apprenticeships a lot has been talked about the high number 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:41.240 of people who are young people who are out of work, 0:12:41.320 --> 0:12:44.240 not in trade and training. You know, the acronym needs 0:12:44.360 --> 0:12:48.240 in the UK. Andy Burnham was again talking about apprenticeships 0:12:48.240 --> 0:12:51.440 and then the need to guarantee young people work and 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.400 training in the UK are just in the last few days. 0:12:54.520 --> 0:12:57.520 How is it possible for government to really deliver on 0:12:58.480 --> 0:13:02.040 if there is a kind of bigger guarantee for apprenticeships, 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:03.480 how can government deliver on that. 0:13:03.840 --> 0:13:06.840 Well, Government can't deliver on it on their own. They 0:13:06.880 --> 0:13:10.520 have to deliver it in partnership with business. And look, 0:13:10.559 --> 0:13:13.679 businesses really want to implore young people, they really do. 0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:15.760 They want to implore young people from their community. 0:13:15.880 --> 0:13:18.520 We mean, the vast majority of our businesses are small 0:13:18.520 --> 0:13:22.280 and medium sized businesses and they're part of their places. 0:13:23.520 --> 0:13:27.520 But it's become increasingly difficult. You know, if you think 0:13:27.559 --> 0:13:31.160 about our kids at school, you know, our schools are 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:34.400 measured by OFFSTED measures, not a single one of those measures. 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:35.640 It's about work readiness. 0:13:36.080 --> 0:13:38.199 We are not producing young people who coming out of 0:13:38.200 --> 0:13:42.520 school ready for the workplace. So businesses tell us they're 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:44.480 more than happy to train young people on the. 0:13:44.440 --> 0:13:46.400 Actual hard skills, but they're really. 0:13:46.240 --> 0:13:49.000 Struggling to find young people who have the soft skills 0:13:49.040 --> 0:13:51.640 ready to go into the workplace. So we need to 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.719 do a lot more with our educators to make sure that, 0:13:55.400 --> 0:13:57.599 you know, we're getting young people ready for the workplace. 0:13:58.040 --> 0:14:01.559 But I think you know the government has produced you know, 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:04.480 we've got the new Youth Guarantee Scheme coming online which 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:07.079 is helping on people who have been out the workplace 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:08.679 for a while to get back in in a sort 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:12.079 of low risk way, and government subsidizing some of their wages. 0:14:12.120 --> 0:14:13.120 Those are good things. 0:14:13.400 --> 0:14:15.520 Looks a bit like Kickstart if you remember that from 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:19.760 COVID Times. So what I know to be true is 0:14:19.880 --> 0:14:23.400 businesses absolutely want to employ those young people. They need 0:14:23.440 --> 0:14:26.600 to wrap around care to help them get into work, 0:14:27.280 --> 0:14:31.440 settle in, you know, know it's right for them. They 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:34.160 and they will work really closely with their local authorities 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:36.480 and central government as we will to make that happen. 0:14:37.720 --> 0:14:40.360 What do your members think about potentially well, it will 0:14:40.400 --> 0:14:44.120 be probably a seventh What do you think? What do 0:14:44.120 --> 0:14:47.120 your members think about a seventh UK Prime minister in 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:49.800 ten years? You know we're thinking also about the anniversary 0:14:49.800 --> 0:14:55.280 it breaks. It's how disappointed, frustrated, hopeful are they? 0:14:55.560 --> 0:14:57.840 So I've been in this job running the British Chamins 0:14:57.880 --> 0:14:58.720 of Commerce. 0:14:58.360 --> 0:15:01.080 For five years this month, with a new prime minister 0:15:01.160 --> 0:15:03.920 next month, thanks very much. It'll be my fifth prime 0:15:03.960 --> 0:15:08.800 minister in five It's not a way to it's certainly 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:10.280 it's not a way to run a country, and it's 0:15:10.360 --> 0:15:12.240 certainly not a way to run a business. If you 0:15:12.360 --> 0:15:15.880 had that many CEOs in that many years, you'd be 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:18.600 out of your business. Would be will be out, would 0:15:18.600 --> 0:15:22.000 be out of business. So you know what business want. 0:15:22.160 --> 0:15:25.560 How we work. We work on long term horizons. We 0:15:25.640 --> 0:15:29.240 work on plans, We work on five ten uere strategies 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.280 and that's the sort of horizon you need to have 0:15:32.360 --> 0:15:37.920 the confidence to invest and know that the political landscape, 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:42.640 the regulatory landscape, the costs landscape, lanning laws, you pick, 0:15:42.720 --> 0:15:45.960 it will be what you need for that investment. So 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:48.880 it's time for some political stability. 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:50.320 Who is to blame for that. 0:15:57.560 --> 0:15:58.480 That's quite hard. 0:15:58.560 --> 0:16:01.520 That's that's quite hard to know, I would say, I 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:07.720 mean since Brexit, I guess we haven't really been able 0:16:07.760 --> 0:16:11.920 to work out, you know, the political parties haven't been 0:16:11.920 --> 0:16:15.240 able to find somebody who can bring everyone together. 0:16:16.160 --> 0:16:19.120 I mean we you know, general election was two years ago. 0:16:19.200 --> 0:16:20.040 Is it next week? 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:23.920 And I think we all you know, we worked really 0:16:23.960 --> 0:16:27.040 closely with the Labor Party. We had eighty two of 0:16:27.040 --> 0:16:31.840 our recommendations going to that manifesto. What's happened with politics 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:35.600 us getting a new prime minister is you know that 0:16:36.280 --> 0:16:39.640 was driven by the party and obviously by the local elections. 0:16:39.680 --> 0:16:43.920 But we as a country don't vote in prime ministers, 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:45.720 do we We vote in the party. We vote in 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:49.160 the manifesto of that party. So you know, really it's 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:51.520 down to that party to de liver that manifesto each time.