A new report by the Global Britain Commission says that a skillfully implemented Global Britain agenda could address the UK’s regional and local inequalities. A total of 5.5 million new export-supporting jobs, workers earning more than £2,000 a year extra on average, significantly more exports, more research & development and a range of other benefits are the ‘size of the prize’ if we truly embrace Global Britain.
The Global Britain Commission is a group of leading businesses working together to model the benefits of embracing a new global outlook for the UK economy. Leading figures from businesses including Forth Ports, Coutts, UK Finance, Heathrow, EY, Mace, Rolls Royce and Virgin Atlantic are behind the findings.
The first report of the Global Britain Commission, Global Britain and Why It Matters, out today sets out how the right conditions for trade and investment in Britain could lead to the following benefits:
- Raising per capita exports of goods and services to the level of Germany would mean an additional £474bn of UK exports annually.
- This £474bn export boost could create up to 5.5m export-supporting jobs. Jobs which are 7% higher paying than the UK average.
The UK has the nineteenth highest rate of outward FDI per capita in the OECD. Raising this to match France’s level would equate to an additional £33bn of FDI outflow per year.
We would see an extra £61bn of R&D investment if we raise investment levels per person to those of South Korea which could create up to 1.2m jobs.
Raising the UK’s per person venture capital investment to that of the United States would be equivalent to an additional £19bn of VC funding annually, boosting growth and creating jobs.
A successful Global Britain would support and complement efforts by the government to level up the UK. According to the most recent regional output figures, were the North of England to produce the same economic output as the UK average, it would produce £88 billion more than it does now – equivalent to just over 3% of the UK’s GDP and £5,600 per head of the population of the North. This would be achieved through a suite of policies, including Freeports, which would be designed to ensure that the gains from trade are more equally shared across UK regions than they have been in recent decades. Today, around 25% of the UK’s export jobs are based within London despite only having 13% of the population. The report highlights Offshore Wind and Sustainable Aviation Fuel as key industries which could provide millions of jobs and significant steps towards achieving net zero targets.
The report sets out what Global Britain means for business in the UK and why it matters as both a policy and economic agenda. For business: ‘Global Britain focuses on the UK’s strengths to help open new markets for UK goods and services, attract investment, innovate, increase our prosperity and effectively connect with and compete on the global stage whilst ensuring an open and competitive business environment at home.’
Welcoming the findings of the new report, Global Britain Commission Chairman Rt Hon Dr Liam Fox, said: “What is abundantly clear is that the right focus on a truly Global Britain can reap huge economic benefits for everyone in the UK. Post-Brexit, there is a new trading reality, and British and global businesses can grasp these new opportunities to the benefit of the economy, business and workers.”
Sir Roger Marsh OBE DL, Chair of the NP11 group of northern local enterprise partnerships and the Leeds City Region LEP said: “Global Britain can play a pivotal role in levelling up those parts of the UK whose growth and productivity have lagged behind more prosperous areas – particularly the North of England. In recent years our economy has been overly dependent on the economic output of London and the South East. This has limited the potential of areas like the North, and it’s also limited the competitiveness and growth potential of the UK as a whole”
“If the North were its own country it would be around the 20th largest economy in the world. Our towns and cities were at the forefront of the first Industrial Revolution, and businesses across our combined region are now powering the fourth industrial revolution. We are leading the UK’s transition to net zero, with both of the country’s first two industrial decarbonisation clusters on our North East and North West coasts respectively creating huge global investment opportunities. Our businesses are exporting goods and services around the world, with particular strengths in fast-growing sectors such as advanced manufacturing, life sciences, digital and green energy, and we are home to three of the country’s eight freeports. For me, a truly successful Global Britain will be one that creates opportunity locally, delivering benefits that people and businesses in the North can see and feel, while also maximising the potential of every UK region to make the country a global leader for the 21st and 22nd centuries and beyond.”
