Manifesting a Change Agenda

The dilemma of political promises

Do politicians genuinely believe that they have all the answers? Should we expect them to have all the answers? Why is it that politicians so often fail to deliver? How frequently do they engage with businesses to ask about what is genuinely important to them and actually listen?

The disconnect between politicians and businesses

Here at Brighter Consultancy, we want to discuss some key issues that we see as critical to manage, and key priorities that we believe any government should focus on. This is to enable the business community, particularly those businesses we engage with, to generate the economic growth necessary to support the broader political agenda and address some of the key issues.

Restoring economic stability

Economic instability leads to uncertainty and is the most common reason cited by businesses for not investing for growth. We need a government focused on bringing back stability through controlling inflation, enabling the Bank of England to reduce interest rates, creating a stable environment, incentivizing businesses to invest, and enabling our businesses to have confidence to invest and grow.

Tackling the cost of living crisis

We still have a cost of living crisis. Despite inflation having fallen, prices remain high, impacting many people and businesses. Supporting businesses to help employees through the cost of living crisis is crucial. Creating confidence for businesses to invest in and retain employees is important. The government needs to encourage and support businesses to find and retain the right talent, including reducing red tape, administrative burdens, and creating an environment that empowers businesses to flourish and invest in people.

Navigating technological change and cybersecurity challenges

Technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Keeping up with technological change is a significant issue, especially with the visible rise in cybercrime. The government and regulators need to invest and support businesses to harness technological change in a safe and secure way and protect society from malicious interference.

Regulatory burdens

Regulatory escalation continues to pose challenges for businesses. Keeping up with regulatory change is a significant issue. Regulatory change needs to be carefully planned, directed at real needs, and support competition as well as consumer protection. The financial services industry, in particular, is heavily impacted by regulatory change, where management efforts to grow their businesses, and therefore the economy, are so often overtaken by change activity.

Incentivising investment for growth

Investment needs to remain attractive. Government should provide a framework that supports attractive investment choices to encourage businesses to invest and grow. There needs to be a clear pathway for businesses to have confidence to take risks to invest and not penalise wealth creators, as they play a vital role in supporting a growing economy, and therefore a growing tax base, to support delivering other essential services.

Balancing climate change and business needs

Climate change is affecting us.  Resources need to be directed towards green technologies. Government does however need to balance immediate and longer-term needs to address climate change issues, supporting businesses today without undermining or damaging those businesses too much.

Navigating geopolitical uncertainties

The current geopolitical uncertainty is a major issue of the day, affecting supply chains, energy costs, access to goods and services,  borrowing costs, to name just a few issues. We have war in Europe, tensions and conflicts across multiple continents, more famines and floods, increased terrorist activities, major organised crime activity and some world leaders who are just worrying.  It is important for governments to do their part, to collaborate with their allies to try and ensure stability in the midst of all these uncertainties.  

Simplification as a guiding principle 

Last week, all the major parties have launched their manifestos, and it seems like change is on the way. Simplification should be a guiding principle, so instead of making changes just for the sake of it, governments should carefully consider any proposed changes. Things always seem to get more complex, and businesses could really benefit from simplification. What should be on our wish list? It looks like all the parties have some good ideas, and perhaps a coalition of those ideas might be the best solution, rather than the back-and-forth swings between the Conservative and Labour parties.

Contact us for a confidential conversation about how we can help your business manage change.