
New UK Government Unlocking Fresh Opportunities for Northern Ireland Businesses
Following the election of the new UK government, Stratagem’s Director Gráinne Walsh reflects on Northern Ireland and the new Labour Government.
With Labour’s landslide election victory, it’s all change at Westminster. While not unexpected, the scale of the party’s majority is remarkable. The question now is how they use their mandate to deliver change, filling in the legislative details with the 37 bills in the King’s speech.
While still of course only very early days, the signs and mood music so far look good for relations with Northern Ireland.
In its election manifesto, Labour committed to resetting the UK government’s relationship with the devolved governments as well as to working with the “Executive and Assembly to improve public services and generate economic growth.”
On only his fourth day in office, Keir Starmer travelled to Northern Ireland with new Secretary of State Hilary Benn. The Prime Minister met with the First and deputy First Ministers, as well as representatives of the five main parties. He said that there would be an “immediate reset” of the relationship, and an end to the instability in relations.
Indeed, the responses from all the local parties suggest that this reset has the potential to be more than just a soundbite.
Given the challenges for politics locally over the past few years as well as the strain more widely in British-Irish relations, the commitment by Starmer and Taoiseach Simon Harris to work on a closer relationship between the UK and Ireland immediately is very welcome.
On the policy front, there are also promising signs for business. Over the last number of years, Labour has engaged extensively with business, building relationships, instilling confidence and priming investors.
A number of Labour’s five pledges for office – including economic growth, clean energy and apprenticeships – align with the ambitions shared by the IoD. The IoD’s Manifesto for Business provided a policy road map for the new government, included a combination of local and UK wide recommendations including the reform of the apprenticeship levy so businesses in Northern Ireland can directly access levy funding to attract and upskill their workforce as well as reform of the Companies Act to reflect the key role that directors play in modern society.
However, the shift from opposition to government, and the challenges of delivering for a party with its eyes on Scotland, Wales as well as the north of England means that there will be many competing demands on the time of the front bench.
How active a role, especially now that the devolved institutions are back up and running, will the Secretary of State play? Given Keir Stamer’s previous role with the policing board, will he take a greater interest than some of his predecessors?
From the off however we are presented with new and exciting opportunities for engagement, and this opportunity from the very outset to build relationships with key policy makers and influencers.
It also means realising the importance of Westminster when it comes to decisions that affect this place including trade, climate and the Fiscal Framework. It is about understanding how what happens in Westminster sets the tone and strategic direction for cross cutting agendas including life sciences and clean energy.
This means selling what Northern Ireland has to offer, focusing on the potential of this place, rather than on the problems.
Northern Ireland is a world leader in a range of innovative industries. This makes it an exciting place to do business, with access to the UK and EU markets. And key to securing the opportunities that accompany this is the ability to set out our stall in a way that will generate growth.
Northern Ireland’s circumstances are often unique and our experiences different to the rest of the UK. This must be reflected in policy being made in London. Local business and industry have an important role, and indeed responsibility, to play in sharing their expertise and insights as well as ambitions for the region more widely.
Key to all of this will be strong and impactful working relationships with officials and elected representatives, something that the IoD NI team locally continues to prioritise.
This is something which we see every day in our work at Stratagem – the importance of having those relationships, knowing the right people and the right time to engage with them.
The coming weeks and months present an exciting opportunity for businesses in Northern Ireland to engage with the new UK Government, focusing on our exceptionality as something that makes us an exciting prospect for investment.
Article provided by Stratagem Northern Ireland, Part of the Connect Group
