With a new UK prime minister in power and a major cabinet reshuffle, what lies ahead now for Northern Ireland? Gillian McAuley gives her take on what the region needs
After a summer dominated by the Conservative leadership election, Liz Truss assumed the role of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom last week. For businesses in Northern Ireland, the prospect of a new UK Government represents an important step towards potentially restoring some political certainty in the region.
At the British Irish Association Conference in Oxford last week, there were some cautious glimmers of hope for the Northern Ireland Protocol. We are hearing some encouraging noises from the new cabinet. If this opportunity is to be realised, however, all actors in the process must learn from past mistakes.
The new UK government and European Union must together adopt a careful and sensitive approach to defining the issues to be addressed and, crucially, the process of resolution must include meaningful engagement with all relevant stakeholders in Northern Ireland, including businesses.
The need for agreement could not be more apparent. One business told us recently that, for as long as Protocol issues remain outstanding, investment in the region will suffer. For this business, as inflation takes hold, there is no capacity to continue second-guessing what trade in Northern Ireland will look like six months or a year from now…
This is not an isolated case. As inflationary pressures spiral, the need to resolve the Protocol becomes more urgent. To be sustainable, this resolution must be achieved by agreement.
There are persistent rumours about an emergency budget in Westminster, suggesting that in the weeks ahead, a package of measures will be introduced to tackle inflation. Decisions also need to be made for businesses in Northern Ireland, however, and the people who live and work here — and, for this to happen, we need a restored Executive.
NI Chamber has campaigned for many years for the introduction of multi-year budgets that would facilitate longer-term planning. The business networking group welcomed the move to a three-year budget cycle. Yet, almost halfway through its first year, we remain without a budget and an Executive to deliver it. This is not sustainable.
We need urgent action from a restored Executive, with all policy leaders at the table tackling the challenges feeding this crisis – not least the urgent need to address business rates to free up cash flow, which is currently being absorbed by rising costs.
Supporting businesses and protecting jobs must be at the top of the new Government’s priority list.
Gillian McAuley is President of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry