‘I know the challenges you face’ – mayor on working with business

West Midlands mayor Richard Parker used his speech at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce’s annual awards to acknowledge the challenges facing business.

Addressing the impact of economic and political instability on businesses, the mayor (pictured) told attendees at the ICC: “I'm not going to pretend that it's easy for business. I know the challenges you face, but I also recognise that in this difficult time both geo-geopolitically and regionally, stability is more important than ever.

“I also know that you don't want to see more press releases, more commissions, or more reviews.

“You want, quite rightly, to get on running your business, creating jobs, investing, and growing.

“And if we're honest about it, politics hasn't always matched your ambition or the pace that we need - and we've felt this in this region more than most.

“There have been too many promises and not enough delivery, too many short-term headlines and not enough long-term thinking.

“Businesses frustrated by uncertainty, too many projects that have been delayed, deferred or abandoned, and communities feeling like they've been overlooked and left behind.

“When that happens, everyone loses faith, not just in decisions, but in politics altogether.

“I think that was evident in the elections last week, and maybe it's evident in developments this week, too.

“But I want to be clear, my job is to ensure that this region has political leadership, we remain focused, and we have a very clear mission and sense of purpose.”

The mayor acknowledged the Chamber’s role in working with Government to support businesses through the JLR crisis and Donald Trump’s tariff announcements last year.

He added:  "Equally importantly is the work we've done with the Chamber team on supporting JLR through a very difficult period over the last 12 months.

"Not just on the cyber attack, but on the initial Trump proposition for UK tariffs. Donald Trump's first trade tariff proposition would have cost tens of thousands of jobs in the automotive industry in this region.

"By working with the team from the Chamber, and with (local businessman) Steve Rigby, and working with the team at Number 10, we agreed and arranged and negotiated a revised tariff deal that actually gave JLR the surety it needed to continue investing in this region, and importantly saved tens of thousands of jobs, not just in JLR, but across its supply chain across the whole region.

“That's what happens when government and business work together to best effect.”

On working with the business community to make a difference across the region, Mr Parker said: “I remain absolutely committed to working with all of you to making the difference that the people of this region and the businesses of this region have the right to expect.

“And if we work together, we can make that difference.”