Britain and Europe: Unlocking International Trade and Growth
CEF joined forces with the Conservatives for Business Group at the Hyatt Hotel inside the secure zone at Conservative Conference in Birmingham on Sunday 4th October, with a panel including Shadow Business and City Minister, Mark Garnier MP.
Also on the panel were: 2024 Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Wimbledon, Danielle Dunfield-Prayero, Co-Founder and Chairman of Conservatives for Business; Hospitality entrepreneur and CEF Vice President, Clive Watson; Dr Bastian Schneider, member of the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg, who represents Christian Democratic Union; Dr Michael Richter UK Director of the Hans Seidel Stiftung, research association of the Christian Socialist Union. The discussion was chaired by Cap X editor, Marc Sidwell.
Ms Dunfield-Prayero highlighted that 12% of SMEs export in the UK whilst about double that do so in Germany, with Conservative for Business data indicating an appetite to expand trade, with 50% wishing to export to Continental Europe and 30% wishing to do so further afield across the globe. She said that improving access to trade was an obvious and important goal for the next Conservative Government.
Mark Garnier echoed Clive Watson's call for greater domestic economic stability, following a series of damaging tax-raising Budgets from the Labour government. Reflecting on his time as a Trade Minister and Trade envoy under the last Conservative Government he also said that Britain did some things well in terms of helping SMEs with export finance, but could do more to help businesses attend international trade shows. He also said that whilst he did not want to return to the subject of Brexit which he opposed in 2016, there were areas for improving trade, including looking at how Britain might explore equivalence for financial services.
Clive Watson said that though he did not want to re-fight old battles of 2016, but that from his perspective as a businessman Britain's largest single customer as a businessman was the European single market and it was important Britain found ways to overcome barriers to that market.
Dr Schneider and Dr Richter both highlighted commonalities between the German and British experience and spoke against the tax and spending tendencies of the centre-left across Europe, which were clearly deleterious for business. It was also discussed that Chamber of Commerce only had about 5% penetration in Britain, whilst it was widely integrated and common practice in Germany.
Richter highlighted the "Laptop und lederhosen" phrase common on the centre-right in Germany which acknowledged institutional and cultural tradition, whilst valuing innovation and change. Meanwhile, citing his half Polish heritage and the rapid economic growth in Germany's nearest eastern neighbour since 1990 he concluded that "Socialism is not the answer to anything".