PM at the International Festival for Business in Liverpool
9 Jun 2014 04:08 PM
The Prime Minister
yesterday (9 June) opened the biggest trade fair in the UK in over 60
years.
Like the Great Exhibition in the
1850s or the Festival of Britain in the 1950s, the International Festival
for Business (IFB) is a once in a generation event to showcase the
very best of Britain and encourage foreign investors to set up or expand in the
UK.
Over 50 days, a quarter of a
million people from 80 countries will take part in over 200 events promoting
manufacturing, technology, science and more. That’s 6 weeks of deals
being done and a predicted potential value of £100 million to the UK
economy.
The festival will help fulfil
our long-term economic plan by boosting investment, backing business and
creating jobs. Crucially, it will also help further rebalance the economy,
spreading growth in the North as well as the South.
The British Business Embassy
(BBE) will be the opening event for the International Festival for
Business.
Follow live coverage of
the BBE on Twitter @UKTI using #BBE14 or on UKTI’s Storify.
Banging the drum for British
business
The Prime Minister will tell an
audience of 250 CEOs why he is again banging the drum for British business. He
is expected to say:
One of the things I love about
Britain is that we are a nation of geniuses. Almost every invention worth
inventing, we’ve had a hand in it. Almost every type of industry there
has been, we’ve excelled at it. I’m proud that we’ve always
been at the centre of the world for enterprise and business; at the top of the
tree when it comes to innovation and creativity. That is what has provided us
with jobs, revenue and economic security – and a platform to extend our
power and global reach.
There’s nothing more
important in my long-term economic plan for Britain than making this the most
creative country on earth – at the forefront of the latest industry,
making things and selling them to the world.
Let me say a bit about the role
I see myself playing in this. Of course, it’s to make sure Britain is the
best place in the world to start, finance and grow a business; to make sure we
invest in science and skills; to make it easier for people to get their ideas
off the drawing board and onto the factory floor – and we are doing all
those things.
But it’s about more than
that. I believe a Prime Minister shouldn’t just lead the country –
they should help promote it to the world. That’s why I’ve taken
trade missions from China to Brazil, from Malaysia to Mexico. It’s why I
held the Global Investment Conference at the Olympics. It’s why I held an
investment conference in Northern Ireland at the time of the G8 last year; why
I’m holding one in Wales at NATO; and why I’ve backed the
International Festival for Business in Liverpool from its
inception.
This government wants to work on
behalf of every business in Britain to drum up trade, encourage investment and
pave the way for growth. That’s the way we’ll generate jobs, pay
our way in the world, and create stability, security and a brighter future for
Britain.
Before addressing the festival,
the Prime Minister was shown around the Port of Liverpool, which is undergoing
a huge transformation to become one of the biggest ports in Europe, further
boosting inward investment, increasing exports and creating and supporting tens
of thousands of jobs.
The IFB is a key part
of the government’s ambition to promote economic growth to rebalance the
economy, double UK exports by 2020 and further strengthen our position as the
lead country for inward investment in Europe.
And while the festival itself is
held in Liverpool, it will attract investment into every corner of the
UK.
Britain is the most attractive
place in Europe to invest
The PM’s speech comes on
the back of further strengthening economic news:
- another report from Ernst &
Young confirms that Britain is the most attractive place in Europe to invest
– ahead of Germany and accounting for 20% of all investment projects in
Europe
- EEF have also upgraded
manufacturing growth forecasts from 2.7% to 3.6% - the highest level for 7
years
The Prime Minister also welcomed
a number of jobs being created or safeguarded around the country, with many
more expected over the next 50 days. A few of the announcements
are:
- Volkswagen Financial Services
creating 340 jobs in Milton Keynes
- Heineken investing £50
million, safeguarding 240 jobs in Manchester
- Multimatic car manufacturers
creating 232 R&D and manufacturing jobs in Coventry and
Norfolk
Read more about how
we’re growing the UK
economy.