Leader backs our new technologies
ONE of Britain’s top business leaders last night challenged the Government to do more to help the region’s bid to become a global hub for new-age technologies.
Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI, spent the day in the North East yesterday visiting firms which aim to develop the sustainable and eco-friendly technologies of the future.
After meeting with a number of firms, including Nissan and Smith Electric Vehicles in Washington, he attended the CBI’s annual North East dinner where he championed the diversity of the region’s economy.
However, he also told The Journal that the Government could do more to support industries such as electric vehicle manufacturing.
He said: “There’s a lot of talk going on from the Government but I think what we need is a bit of action.
“There’s a lot of talk about this being a special zone but what does that actually mean? What are they actually going to do? That’s the question I ask.
“I think one of the things that would make a huge difference would be for the Government, which buys several hundred thousand vehicles every year, to buy one or two thousand electric vehicles to give a kick start here and get a bit of volume going.”
Speaking at the Hilton hotel in Gateshead, Mr Lambert also highlighted the importance of the financial services sector to the UK economy, saying a sense of perspective was needed about how it worked. He said returning the flow of credit to private firms and getting banks off the taxpayers’ back were more important than examining the level of bankers’ pay.
He said: “There are only two questions that really matter in the banking market today, and they are not about bankers’ pay and rations, or the social value of credit derivatives.
“Instead, the right question to ask is, how do we get credit flowing properly through to the private sector, especially to small and medium sized enterprises? And what kind of shock absorbers do the banks need to have in place so that they can get off the taxpayers’ back and do what they are supposed to do in a competitive and open marketplace?”
Mr Lambert also highlighted the strengths of the North East’s economy, saying the region started from a much stronger position than in previous recessions.
“You only have to look around the companies represented here tonight to see how much more diverse the economy has become over the past decade or two.”
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