politics

As it is my first column of 2023, happy new year! The last few years have seen Southwark businesses hit by Brexit, covid and the disastrous ‘mini-Budget’ which has damaged the national economy. 2023 looks set to continue providing significant challenges for local businesses, but there are some opportunities including the new monarch being crowned King Charles III in May. It was a pleasure to welcome the King to Great Suffolk Street’s Africa Centre in January but the once in a generation coronation will bring hundreds of thousands of people to the capital and I hope will provide a much-needed boost for jobs, leisure, retail and hospitality here in Southwark, especially given the growth in hotels our side of the Thames in recent years. Sadly, the challenges of 2023 have started already. The Bank of England has put up interest rates by 0.5% to a 14 year high, which increases the cost of borrowing and energy costs are rising just as the Government cuts assistance with bills.

Employers are also concerned about potential hikes in business rates following the two-year delay due to covid. When inflationary pressures from increasing energy costs began in the autumn of 2021, Labour called on the Government increase the threshold for small business rates relief from £15,000 rateable value to £25,000. Sadly, Ministers failed to step in but when next in power Labour has committed to cut and then scrap rates, replacing them with a system fit for the 21st century.

For eight years serving Bermondsey and Old Southwark I have pushed for investment here, as I know that a thriving capital leads a thriving country. Projects like the Bakerloo Line extension are crucial for unlocking new homes and jobs. Sadly, Ministers have failed to deliver despite the London Mayor, Southwark and Lewisham Councils backing the extension. The Government turning its back on London only denies opportunities to the wider UK economy. As part of the ‘Levelling Up’ agenda London has received just £76 per person, the average for England is £342 and, to date, London has received just 6% from the Levelling Up Fund despite having 13% of the UK population. Ministers have also prevented London accessing any funds from the Community Ownership Fund, the Towns Fund, and Transforming Cities

Sadly, the challenges of 2023 have started already. The Bank of England has put up interest rates by 0.5% to a 14 year high, which increases the cost of borrowing and energy costs are rising just as the Government cuts assistance with bills.

Fund. This neglect and negligence harms the whole economy at a time the country needs to pull together.

The other significant struggle Southwark businesses tell me they face is in recruitment. So I was shocked to hear the Department for Work and Pensions’ Permanent Secretary describe the Government ‘Kickstart’ scheme as a success in select committee recently despite the job creation scheme failing to help 87,000 of its targeted young people find work. The lack of ambition is astounding but indicative of a Government which has run out of steam. Ministers have overseen a decade of decline in skills and training opportunities which is making Britain poorer. Fresh leadership is desperately needed, and the sooner the better!