I have been thinking. It is a bit like starting an old car; you need the right mixture, the motor has to be turned at the right speed and there has to be a spark. But even when all of that is right, the whole thing might inexplicably burst into flames. In fact, I’ve been on holiday (the right mixture) which means I’ve had time to think (the motor has been turning) and, thanks to a Fathers’ Day gift from my daughter, I’ve had something to think about (there’s the spark). Fortunately, there have been no flames despite the fact that I’m one of those people who takes to sun like a lobster takes to a hot bath.

The gift was a book called ‘Being British’, consisting of essays written by a range of contributors, edited by Matthew d’Ancona from an original idea by Gordon Brown with royalties going to the charity Piggy Bank Kids. I can thoroughly recommend it to anybody who wants to understand this country as it thinks of itself today.

There are many opinions as to what being British amounts to. But they all, to a greater or lesser degree, agree that Britain is an open and accommodating society formed of its trading prowess, its entrepreneurial flair, tolerance, financial and political stability, and a history of welcoming then absorbing to itself aspects of all of the cultures that have made up and continue to grow British society. It is essentially outward looking and, even to this day, is inventive on a world changing scale: consider that the World Wide Web (that quintessential engine of the knowledge economy) was invented by Englishman Tim (now Sir Tim) Berners-Lee in 1989.

So when a business moves any part of its operation to the UK it is not just choosing a convenient location from which to trade with Europe, although that is a key benefit. It is also securing for its own benefit the value creating acumen (inventing, making and trading goods and services) and global outlook of the country that started the first industrial revolution and has been a global presence since the sixteenth century.

However, two things threaten that status and must be addressed if Britain is to remain the location of choice for business.

The first is a matter of attitude highlighted by some of the contributors to the aforementioned book. It can be summed up as wilful self denigration, focusing on negative aspects in what has made Britain, while sneering at celebration of the country’s amazing achievements. Nobody wants to invest in a country that is unsure about its own value – we must again start celebrating Britain’s successes, its greatness, if the country is to remain attractive. We live in a competitive world in which winning is all.

The second threat is more substantial and, at the same time more dangerous. I also read during my holiday that some parts of the UK will see more than 50% of expenditure in 2010 come from the state or its agencies. This is not wealth that the state has created but wealth that it has taken out of the value creating sector through taxation and other devices and is very worrying because, while there is a perfectly sound case for a substantial public sector in a modern and civilised society, when the state is consistently spending more than the value creating sector that is not, in the modern parlance, ‘sustainable’.

Whichever party is in government following the next general election, if it doesn’t get to grips with this reality then it will ultimately forfeit the right to rule the country in favour of the EU and, if events as opposed to words can be our guide, that will be the end of Britain’s ability to create a business environment that is more attractive to inward investors than those of other EU member states.

Fortunately, the precedents are good. There was a previous time at the end of the 1970s when Britain was in similarly dire economic straits and history shows that when the necessity to change and move back into viability was clear, Britain responded with a programme that took the country back to the top of the economic tree. The thing is, to mix my metaphors, in order to benefit from being at the top of that tree, businesses will need to get in on the basement that is Britain’s, and most of the world’s economy today.

In the time honoured tradition of using a pop song to epitomise an idea, from hereon in, the only way is up.

John Hancock
Editor
Invest in Success

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