Government needs to act now on infrastructure, says CBI

The president of the UK’s largest business group today called on the government to deliver strong, calm and decisive leadership on infrastructure decisions, especially in light of Brexit.

President of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Paul Drechsler, said: “If we believed infrastructure decisions were important two weeks ago, now after Brexit, they are even more important. In these times of economic uncertainty, we know that economic stimulus will be vital. And infrastructure is a powerful way to achieve this.

Reflecting the view of many construction leaders, Drechsler said: “We need a government that gets on with making the big decisions at home. That means keeping existing infrastructure decisions on track. From housing, to devolution plans through Local Enterprise Partnerships. The show must go on – with no missed deadlines.”

Turning to the UK’s aviation capacity, Drechsler said that building a new runway in the south east was a key decision for the long-term future of the country and its economy. “Let’s be clear - in the aftermath of Brexit, the world won’t wait for us,” he said. “Other countries don’t care about our excuses. The competition is hungry and more than willing to take advantage of our weakness.

“While we’re staring at the departures board, airports in France, Germany and the Netherlands are all building routes with emerging markets. If the UK doesn’t act now, we could lose out on over £30 billion in trade by 2030 with the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies alone. Meanwhile, our loss would be our European rivals’ gain. Of the £30 billion of trade with BRICs we’d miss out on by 2030, £15 billion would go to Germany, and £7.5 billion would go to France,” Drechsler said. 

“It’s more important than ever to reassure Britain’s workers, makers, exporters and investors that the UK is open for business. My message for the next prime minister is this. A decision on a new runway must be your top domestic priority. Bar none,” he said.

Drechsler  said that when government acts on the evidence, things happen. “Recently, we’ve seen government putting their money where their mouth is on road and rail investment. We’re seeing the biggest investment programme in rail since Victorian times, and the biggest road-building programme since the 1970s - a welcome move away from the ‘stop-start’ funding of the past. 

“We’re also growing in confidence when it comes to bigger infrastructure projects. At almost £15 billion, Crossrail – Europe’s largest infrastructure project – is amazingly on time and on budget, at 70% complete. The progress made by HS2 in the last year also shows that – once we make that crucial decision to commit – we can move quickly. But, as a country, now more than ever, we can’t afford to go backwards.”

Drechsler praised the creation of a National Infrastructure Commission as “a breath of fresh air” but warned that it must have real impact to make a difference. “Business certainly won’t judge the Commission by the number of recommendations it makes, but by the amount of action the Government takes,” he said.

The CBI president’s words will be welcomed by construction and infrastructure leaders who, in the wake of the Brexit vote, have been lobbying for the government to keep its infrastructure investment plans on track. Pressure is clearly growing on government to make a statement on infrastructure that will reassure the industry and give a boost to the economy when both are in need of a lift.