In the end, it was little more than a storm in a tea cup.
Weekend headlines led with suggestions that £1bn in investment from Dubai-based DP World was at risk because of a minister’s comments about its operating company P&O.
The comments from Transport Secretary Louise Haigh likened P&O to a ‘rogue operator’. She added for good measure that consumers should boycott the company for laying off hundreds of employees and replacing them with agency workers in 2022.
For all the furore, the government’s set piece investment summit went off today with DP World’s investment in the London Gateway container port intact.
The funding is one of a raft of commitments outlined in a £63bn package today, which promises to create 38,000 jobs across the country.
Importance of investing for the long-term
It’s obviously a welcome statement of the confidence big businesses have in the UK that so many of them want to invest here.
Working to attract foreign direct investment is no mean feat and is vital to the economy. It shows a commitment to invest that creates jobs and strengthens supply chains. I also know from working on projects in the South West that deals can take years to land.
The UK has fantastic strengths to draw on that makes it attractive, even outside the EU. Its talent pool, cultural pull and access to free healthcare and education are all big pluses. Political and economic stability will help further.
But I am interested also in how the DP World story played out alongside the government’s attempts to make the economy fairer and more productive.
While the government’s investment summit showcased its ability to attract big investment, it came as the Workers Rights Bill was also in focus. This bill introduces a raft of measures ranging from flexible working, to tackling low pay, and enhanced maternity and paternity leave.
As the owner of a small business that does many of these things already (and it’s not easy), I’m fully behind the bill’s intent. And I know that not all employers want to kick off about it, despite the media disquiet.
What sort of investors do we want?
It’s interesting to see this tension between promoting investment and improving workers’ rights play out in the media, when many conversations I have suggest that a fairer, more inclusive economy is worth striving for.
I think government and business leaders should ask: what sort of investment do we want here? Do we want anchor investors that support long-term partnerships, hire and train local staff and build strong supply chains? Or do we want investors who don’t play by the rules, treat their staff badly and leave when things turn tough?
It’s easy to suggest that Sir Keir Starmer should have stood by his minister, even if the timing of Louise Haigh’s comments unsettled a deal. But why did DP World have such a central role at the national investment conference in the first place, given P&O’s track record?
What signal does that give about the standards and behaviours we expect? What sort of growth do we want? Am I missing something here? Please help me if so!
As the media moves to the next storm, the UK economy has a balance to strike. We need to attract the right investment that supports the economy and the people and communities it needs to succeed.
Here’s hoping the investment announced today offers a platform for genuinely inclusive, sustainable growth.