Doncaster Chamber Reacts to Encouraging Signals and Notable Omissions in the 2024 King’s Speech

Reacting to the 2024 King’s Speech, Doncaster Chamber has applauded the Government for signalling that it is listening to business, and that it has the makings of a coherent plan for stimulating growth. However, while there are certainly many positives here, it is vital that these encouraging intentions translate into action.

Marking the official State Opening of Parliament, the King’s Speech is an opportunity for the incumbent Government to outline their forthcoming legislative programme. With this year’s iteration of the address, Labour has put forward a total of 39 bills.

Reflecting on these from a business perspective, Dan Fell, Chief Executive of Doncaster Chamber, said: “Many of the measures announced in yesterday’s speech are sure to be welcomed by the business community, although the devil is, necessarily, going to be in the detail.

“Labour’s commitment to an Industrial Strategy, for example, should help to foster an environment conducive to business success and it feels like some of the groundwork for that has already been laid with some of the other headline announcements. In particular, the various bills related to planning reform, getting Britain building, and enabling big-ticket investments through the National Wealth Fund are all encouraging to see, particularly for sectors like construction.

“On the other hand, some pieces of the jigsaw seem to be missing. One notable omission is that we are still uncertain about how the Government plans to grow a stronger manufacturing base in our country, despite this being so obviously critical to the nation’s growth and to the future of places like Doncaster. Similarly, we do not yet have a clear sense of how the Government will work to support and encourage exporters.

“On the subject of changing employment rights, we would like to remind Westminster that most UK businesses are in fact SMEs, and typically very responsible ones at that. If they are over encumbered with too much red tape, then there is a real possibility that they could become risk averse when it comes to recruiting new employees, with this having a detrimental effect on the labour market. We therefore urge Government not to design agility out of the system and to make sure that employers still have the flexibility they need when it comes to recruiting talent.

“Elsewhere, we are hearted to see the King’s Speech putting a lot of stock in devolution — which will help regions like South Yorkshire take greater control of their economic destinies — and we hope this can be taken as a sign that Westminster is keen to develop more mature relationships with places. Of course, it is then incumbent on places like South Yorkshire to use those devolved powers effectively.

“I suspect many businesses will be agnostic about whether the UK’s buses and railways are privately or publicly owned. What is important — particularly for the legions of businesses and 15,000 workers in Doncaster’s rail engineering industry — is that there is a long-term plan to sustainably invest in the UK’s infrastructure, especially in the North of England, and an end to the prevarication that has characterised schemes like HS2 in the past.”

Segueing from issues of national policy, and looking much closer to home, the Chamber has produced its own ambitious plan for Doncaster’s next decade. Titled Doncaster ’35: A Manifesto for a Winning City, this business-led document envisions a prosperous future ahead and outlines the steps that need to be taken to realise this aspiration.