16 / Politics
CBI conference: politicians set out their stalls Jacob Dirnhuber Politics Writer
London's Grosvenor hotel played host to the annual Confederation of British Industry conference last Monday, where Prime Minister David Cameron pledged to cut through the bureaucratic "red tape" constraining British business interests and declared that Britain was stuck in "the economic equivalent of war". In an unconfident and frantic speech, Cameron made repeated attempts to reassure the congress that his government was the one to steer Britain away from the financial abyss, and that he had the best interests of British business at heart. "I’m here today to tell you this Government gets it. We get that the world is breathing down our neck. And we get what British business needs". "You need us to deal with our deficit. To cut business taxes so we can compete. To have a proper industrial strategy to get behind the growth engines of the future.
To reform education so we turn out the brightest graduates and school leavers. To reform welfare so it pays to work". "These are the key steps to Britain thriving in this global race. But it’s not just about policies: it’s about attitude. You need us to be tough. To be radical. To be fast. I’m going to tell you what that means". Education was particularly high on the agenda, with a report released on the eve of the conference describing British schools as "exam factories" and labelling the education system as a whole a "cult of the average". "Qualifications are important, but we also need people who have self-discipline and serve customers well" said the Deputy Director of the CBI, John Cridland. "As well as academic rigour, we need schools to produce rounded and grounded young people who have the skills and behaviours that businesses want". Cameron's response was to highlight the work of the Education Secretary, Michael Gove,
who has recently made attempts to overhaul an exam system that has been described as 'obsolete'. Cameron responded: "instead of a monolithic state system with no real competition we’ve introduced free schools and created more than 2000 Academies, free to innovate and teach how they want. This is having a massive effect already".
It’s not just about policies: it’s about attitude. You need us to be tough. To be radical. To be fast. However, Cameron was less secure when questions about Britain's status within the EU were raised. Labour's Ed Miliband was one of the principal attackers, claiming that Britain was being allowed to "sleepwalk towards the exit" under the Coalition. "Public scepticism about the EU has been on the rise for some time" he said. "Some cabinet ministers in this government now openly say we would be better off outside the EU". "Many of our traditional allies in Europe clearly think Britain is heading to the exit door. Those of us, like me, who passionately believe that Britain is stronger in the EU cannot be silent in a situation like this. I will not allow our country to sleepwalk towards exit because it would be a betrayal of our national interest." Miliband argued that Britain is attractive to investors such as Nissan and Toyota because of its position within the Single Market, and this would disappear if Britain were to leave the EU. This was a view shared by many attendees at the conference. "If we left the EU it would be the
United States, China, the EU in the negotiating room - and Britain in the overflow room". Vince Cable meanwhile drew praise for his speech, which called for further investment in engineering courses and relaxing certain immigration laws that currently prevent skilled workers plying their trade in Britain. "Time and again, large manufacturing companies come to my department and tell me they are worried about looming shortages of skilled engineers. It is one of my major priorities as Business Secretary to address this problem". "We need to remain open to the many talented and entrepreneurial people that throng to our shores to learn, work and invest – that is how over the years Britain has gained so much of its industrial and business expertise. Being open for business means being open to overseas talent as well as overseas investors". In a statement on the CBI website, Chief Policy Director Katja Hall praised Cable's speech to
the conference. "Business will be pleased with the focus Vince Cable brought to meeting our economy's needs. He acknowledged the urgent need to get more young people studying science and maths, and that is of vital importance to businesses. Over 40 per cent of firms in sectors like engineering are already struggling to recruit skilled people, and this situation will only get worse if we don't take swift action." Also speaking was the current mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who criticised companies such as Starbucks and Google for paying little to no corporation tax. "They can either change their tax arrangement or they can do much more to serve the society where they make their profits by taking on more of the [unemployed youths]," he said. "I believe that is the best solution for a city that has experienced riots just over a year ago. We need to boost apprenticeships and get young people into jobs."
South Wales ‘helicops’ police twitter account could be axed Chris McSweeney Politics Writer
Ever been woken up by a Police Helicopter? Ever wondered why the sky cops are hovering over Cardiff each night? Thankfully you can find out, as the South and East Wales Police Helicopter now has its own Twitter account. The South Wales Police PR department will be delighted they acquired the username “@ helicops”. The Twitter account publishes details of every flight, where they are flying, which crimes they are tackling, and even frequently replies to public requests and complaints. One recent tweet, in response to a member of the public stated; “@wocko101 – Sorry hope we didn’t disturb you too much.” The account was launched in September of 2011 and has so
far posted nearly five and a half thousand tweets, and attracted over 10,000 followers. This has been exceptionally successful for police-public relations, as the Twitter Feed helps keep the public informed in real time, and creates a meaningful connection. This could prove to be important, as public perception of Police Air Support may contribute to overall support of the police following the PCC elections. Police helicopter services nationwide need all the help they can get, given that some regional services cost taxpayers up to £2.5m a year, and have frequently been in the firing range of Cameron and Osbourne’s austerity cuts. Dyfed-Powis Police have recently been campaigning to save their helicopter service from being centralised by the National Police Air Sevice (NPAS), in a move
that would leave 23 helicopters to be shared between 43 police services across England and Wales, thereby significantly stretching the workload of the South Wales Police Helicopter. This costs the taxpayer £815 per flight hour, and up to £7000 a day in some areas. However, the police air service might well be worth the cost to the public purse, given the crucial work that they carry out. Another threat to the 'helicops' is the closing of police twitter accounts because of social media 'mistakes.' This could be a potentially detrimental move as it risks making the police look out of touch and heavy handed. The sense of realness of our police officers has succeeded in engaging with the public, and the 10,000 followers prove that this move has been highly successful.