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Barclays chief executive CS Venkatakrishnan has called for the UK to create an economic development agency to drive long-term growth and depoliticise industrial policymaking.
In a letter to the Financial Times, Venkatakrishnan said the UK “badly needs” a development agency similar to those in Singapore, France and Ireland, which have a reputation for supporting businesses seeking to invest in those countries.
The new body should “harness the private sector to catalyse areas of strategic national interest, such as life sciences, professional services, technology and entertainment”, wrote Venkatakrishnan.
“Like the Bank of England or the Office for National Statistics, this agency should transcend changes in government and drive a common, national ambition for long-term UK growth,” he added.
The intervention by Venkatakrishnan, boss of one of the UK’s biggest banks, comes after years of patchy relations between ministers and industry and frustration in boardrooms over policy U-turns by successive UK governments.
Relations between politicians and executives hit their nadir in 2018 when then foreign secretary Boris Johnson reportedly said “fuck business” in response to a question about companies’ concerns over Brexit.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has sought to rebuild ties with business but many executives remain frustrated with what they see as unpredictable policymaking and frequent ministerial reshuffles. Sunak’s decision last year to curtail the development of a high speed rail line from London to Manchester and dilute targets for the rollout of electric vehicles drew criticism from many business groups and executives.
Venkatakrishnan said a non-partisan development agency could help avoid concerns over “who gets the credit” for policies. A new statutory body “can help government of any complexion, together with industry, plan and execute for long-term growth”, he wrote.
The Barclays chief, who chaired an event for business leaders at the Conservative party’s annual conference in October, said the government should begin exploring how such a proposed agency could operate. “We just need to start, and we will move fastest if we are more concerned with getting going than getting credit,” he wrote.
His comments echo suggestions from former officials. In a report published in November, Tory peer Lord Richard Harrington recommended that the UK adopt the strategic state-backed approach of the US and European countries to woo foreign investors, proposals that were accepted by the government.
In an FT column published last week, former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane called for the creation of a UK economic ministry, separate from the Treasury, and for growth to be given equal importance to balancing the exchequer’s books as a policy objective.
Venkatakrishnan said he supported Haldane’s proposals, which included greater devolution of spending and taxation to Wales, Scotland, London and Northern Ireland.
