Chamber Reacts to News of Election

Commenting on the news that the country will go to the polls on 12th December, Chris Fletcher, Campaigns Director at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: “Many will no doubt see this as an opportunity to break the Brexit deadlock in Parliament and as a way of potentially delivering a resolution to this issue. It is absolutely vital though that the election does not just become a quasi-second referendum, there is a lot more at stake on the result of this than what happens with Brexit.

“Our members and ourselves have been critical of government since the referendum for basically ignoring key domestic economic and social policy issues and viewing all decisions through the lens of Brexit soaking up resource, time and effort. The impact of this has been seen in our recent economic surveys and from what businesses are telling us on a day to day basis. It is less about Brexit and more about the day to day issues and lack of decisions being made that are frustrating them.

“We await to see and hear what the parties have in their manifestos. As regards our election ‘asks’ we have worked over the last few years with businesses, partners and other organisations across the spectrum to develop key activity on our Future of Skills and Connectivity and Innovation for Growth campaigns and these will underpin our election work.

“We need a radical overhaul of skills, massive investment in infrastructure and more devolved powers and funding to continue to make sure the region can perform. This is a crucial and pivotal election and hopefully it will rebalance the next government’s priorities so that whatever action is required can be quickly and effectively delivered and not lost in the quagmire of Brexit.”


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About Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce is the largest Chamber of Commerce in the UK, providing business support to approximately 4,500 members who collectively employ 446,000 people, around one-third of Greater Manchester’s workforce. Recognised as a leader in its field, Greater Manchester Chamber’s reputation in government circles has grown locally and nationally. At the heart of the area of greatest economic intensity outside London and the South East, the Chamber is the primary body for business support, policy, representation and networking. The Chamber is an independent, not-for-profit private company and its aim is to support businesses and help create the best climate for the region to prosper. This is achieved by ensuring that those taking decisions on key issues such as transport, taxation and business regulation hear the voice of our members. The representation of our members’ views is central to the work of the policy team at the Chamber; these views are gathered in a range of ways including our local councils, policy committees, sector councils, the main Chamber council, focus groups, meetings with politicians and consultations. The Chamber also offers a range of networking forums across Greater Manchester, free as part of membership, plus a variety of other events and services designed to benefit specific sectors or individuals and help businesses to grow.


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