Letter to my MP

Dear Mr Prisk

Thank you for your letter in which you acknowledge the terrible lack of guidance from successive governments in matters of training and investment and suggest that we can still slow the decline.  The root of our problem seems to me to be an almost chronic lack of a long term strategy by all the partners in GB Ltd.                                             Business leaders are constrained by their “shareholders” to think short term. Governments are likewise constrained by the pressure of the next election. Banking is in terror of its book, having forgotten what its founding purpose was and likened its self to a hedge fund, it went along with the criminal extortion of all that the market had to offer in near illegal trading practices. The list goes on but it is no good looking back to the past, what can we do now to protect the future.

Investment in people and in infrastructure, in technology and in the means of production, these are the goals to pull us through.

There is a role model in the German experience which, with few exceptions we could emulate to our advantage.

In Germany Industry and finance are tied at the hip. Projects are collaborative, each party sits on the Board and decisions are made with all parties in agreement. It’s not a, them and us arrangement as in this country. Proper training is a responsibility of the respective industry and not a political football as it is here.

It strikes me that when we need money to build a questionable high speed rail link we seem to have it (50 billion) but when we need money to build a nuclear power station (15 billion) we don’t. Why ?

Perhaps the national 70% holding of Nat West could be a precursor to funnelling funds to new and vital piece of national kit such as a power station?                             

Before cries of “Nationalisation”, that’s exactly the source of the Chinese money.

The French fund their nuclear and aero industry; with government financial support and as a result we have to go to them for assistance.   

Placing one’s self strategically at the whim of the Financial Markets is total madness.

So much ideology gets in the way of a National Long Term Plan and we are bound to continue with short-termism unless we form a strategic, non-political body, made up of experts in all aspects of business who are allowed to construct a plan for the future.

A 20/ 30 year project that the politicians of all parties have to work with.            Dream on !!