Business and government need to be talking, and listening

Over the last year, I have attended more and more Labour events aimed at business, as we gear up to a 2015 General Election Campaign. One of the things I have noticed is that much of what Labour politicians put forward is theoretical policy, whilst business speaks from experience. Sometimes the people in the room seem to be talking about the same subject but speaking different languages.

It is also becoming much clearer to me that whilst a Labour Government has a major role to play in over-seeing business regulation, business also has a major role to play in the implementation of government policy, a role Labour politicians don’t always recognise. Without business support it is very difficult for government to actually achieve policy change, and that, more than any other reason is why Labour needs to engage in a trustworthy and genuinely two-way conversation with business.

More widely, if Labour wants to reflect the communities it serves then it is important that its MPs properly engage with business and not just look to think tanks, the voluntary and public sector for ideas. The profile of the electorate now more than ever includes large numbers of the self-employed, entrepreneurs, directors and SME businesses, and the only way for politicians to understand their issues is by talking directly with them.

Yet too often, Labour seems to focus its attention on using business (of whatever size) purely to fundraise. The opportunity to benefit from business experience, knowledge and often greater resources in creating and delivering policy is overlooked.

Labour needs to recognise that business has a major role to play in policy and that it can often present new and innovative ways of implementing it. For Labour to properly benefit it needs to understand business interests, business drivers and their barriers to success. To achieve this, they need a genuine two-way conversation facilitated by:

• Special and policy advisers should have genuine experience in their fields, not just political backgrounds, and local parties must select some candidates with genuine business experience.

• Labour front bench MPs having regular face-to-face meetings with business leaders at all levels – although there should be a presumption in favour of openness and engagement.

• Labour’s Policy Forum should include significant levels of direct business input and seek to facilitate this in a way that is business friendly. Currently policy development is led by politicians and does not always recognise business best practice.

Business needs to understand that Labour is listening to it and that its concerns and ideas are taken seriously. If this doesn’t happen, business simply won’t engage with ‘politicians who just don’t understand business’.  Given the importance of business to successful policy implementation, this isn’t a risk that Labour can afford to take.

A true partnership with business will help a Labour government achieve many of its objectives.

Let me give you just one example of where business impacts on policy, dear to the heart of Labour colleagues. If a Labour Government is not creating the conditions for business to increase levels of employment then it faces increasing welfare payments and the Exchequer faces decreasing tax revenues to spend on Labour priorities.

Business should be very aware of this impact. Whenever I have met with a client to discuss a business issue over the last year, one of the first things the politician asks is if the issue will impact on employment in their constituency. Whether this has been government support for an energy project, the impact of increased regulation or government help in a company expanding into new markets or territories – the impact on employment is critical to helping a politician prioritise his or her involvement.

There is also a great need for business and government to work closely on policy development which must be done from the government perspective in a manner which is transparent and avoids the perception of specific firms or individuals getting market advantage from privileged access. And from a business perspective in a way that businesspeople feel their views and concerns are properly heard and then considered. To make this happen business must have:

• Strong robust arguments in language politicians understand supported by equally strong evidence for why officials, ministers, or advisers should be engaging. These should be rooted in market share, employment footprint, role implementing the policy, or the economic impact of that policy. The same arguments should be able to stand up to intense public and media scrutiny.

• A clear understanding that any discussion with a politician should not purely be about helping your business, but relating it to the delivery of a policy objective. How does the issue you have identified prevent or impact successful implementation. Business needs to avoid being seen as purely self-interested – the test is whether a business would be uncomfortable if its ‘ask’ reached the public domain.