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UPDATED! Industry welcomes new PM but calls for continued investment
UPDATED! Leading business leaders have welcomed Liz Truss as the next prime minister of the UK while reiterating the need of continuing infrastructure investment in navigating the current domestic and international economic challenges.
As was generally predicted, Truss won the race for Conservative Party leadership by beating Rishi Sunak.
In a broad cabinet reshuffle, key industry positions have been given to Kwasi Kwarteng (chancellor), Jacob Rees-Mogg (business, energy, and industrial strategy), Anne-Marie Trevelyan (transport), Simon Clarke (leveling up, housing, and communities), Ranil Jayawardena (environment, food, and rural affairs), Kemi Badenoch (international trade), Chris Heaton-Harris (Northern Ireland), Alister Jack (Scotland), Robert Buckland (Wales), while Alok Sharma remains as COP26 president.
Industry leaders hailed the new prime minister and cabinet but urged them to continue ongoing infrastructure projects and to stay steadfastly committed to net zero and leveling up despite mounting financial difficulties.
Here is a quick updated list of the early industry feedback that Infrastructure Intelligence has received:
“I’d like to welcome the new prime minister into her job and commend her on a successful campaign,” said Stephen Marcos Jones, CEO of the Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE).
“Unfortunately, the procedure has caused the government to take longer than necessary to respond. We anticipate learning how companies will be helped in these areas during the upcoming difficult months because we are aware that inflation, rising energy costs, and wage increases are already having a significant negative impact on the short to medium term forecast for our industry.
To weather any prospective economic storm, investment in our country’s infrastructure and the building sector as a whole is essential. It will guarantee that we keep a long-term perspective on the economy and invest in a field that can provide employment and economic growth. I was happy to see the prime minister support funding for roads and the Northern Powerhouse Rail throughout her campaign because of this.
“Our members are essential to providing the long-term solutions for energy, transportation, connectivity, net zero, and regional growth that society needs. We anticipate that under her leadership, our cooperative relationship with the government will continue.
The Civil Engineering Contractors Association’s (CECA) Marie-Claude Hemming, head of operations, stated: “The infrastructure and construction industries are seeking for clarity, continuity, and consistency from the incoming administration.
“We understand that the budgetary picture is really difficult right now. However, we urge the incoming administration to maintain composure in the face of the current economic challenges and stick to its existing investment plans in order to project employment, maintain market confidence, and bring about a recovery via Great British infrastructure.
“We firmly believe that the new prime minister must commit to ongoing plans and initiatives, such as the upcoming road, rail, and water settlements, as well as continued support for the goal of achieving net zero and the provision of a mixed portfolio of clean energy generation, if they are to successfully unleash growth.
“Most importantly, the incoming administration must avoid repeating past errors, such when infrastructure capital funding was vulnerable to short-termist cuts in the wake of the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. This ultimately proved to be self-defeating as development stagnated, industry lost expertise, and many projects’ strategic relevance led to their eventual re-procurement at higher costs.
“Cost of living is obviously a concern for the incoming PM, and we watch with interest as she spells out short-term initiatives to reduce growing inflation and energy prices,” said Richard Robinson, CEO of Atkins UK & Europe.
More reliable rules that will enable our business to create solutions to support the UK in achieving its ambitious net zero ambitions are needed for longer-term aspirations to build the economy.
“Our industry can then invest in the skills, technology, and innovation needed as the UK tries to emerge stronger from these difficult times, while guiding the transition to clean energy and decarbonized infrastructure, with enhanced clarity and confidence.”
“The security and affordability of our energy supply is front and center of our cost-of-living crisis: the acceleration of net zero energy projects is urgently needed to deliver a secure, affordable, and resilient supply for the future,” said Christophe Junillon, managing director of Atkins Nuclear & Power, EMEA.
“The UK’s power generating build pace must grow fivefold in order for the country to achieve its net zero ambitions and guarantee a reliable and secure energy supply in the future. More energy production and auxiliary infrastructure must be built immediately than ever before.
To avoid a short-term energy crisis turning into a long-term issue for our nation, “we look forward to collaborating with the government to help accelerate the development of low carbon technologies and maximize investment in new nuclear energy.”
“WSP congratulates Liz Truss on her selection as prime minister of the United Kingdom and wishes her every success for her tenure,” said Mark Naysmith, CEO of WSP UK & EMEA. To navigate the UK through a period that will be extremely tough for many people given the enormous issues the country is currently facing, strong and decisive leadership is required.
WSP is in a good position to assist the government in its efforts to decarbonize our economy, transform the UK’s energy supply into one that is green and sustainable, and bring growth and prosperity to communities all over the country through its ongoing commitment and delivery of the National Infrastructure Strategy thanks to its Future Ready approach to design and project delivery.
Reassuring families and businesses about the impending energy crisis will be the greatest and most pressing task on the future prime minister’s agenda, according to Patricia Moore, UK managing director of Turner & Townsend. High utility costs will not only put people in a difficult situation, but they will also pose new dangers to important initiatives like public infrastructure and the production of new energy, which will only make the issues worse in the long run.
“Now is the time to take risks and address the underlying causes as well as the present symptoms. For our sector, considerations must extend beyond simply this winter to the one after that. To ensure a safe, sustainable energy mix, both in terms of generation and transmission across the nation and abroad, we need the necessary infrastructure.
This is essential if we want to make sure that big projects can be funded, completed, and capable of spurring economic growth, resolving regional disparities, and preserving the nation’s pursuit of its net zero goals.
“The incoming prime minister is to head a country that, in economic terms, is destined to confront one of the worst winters in living history,” said Colin Wood, AECOM’s chief executive for Europe and India. Many individuals will have to make difficult choices about how to spend their money as a result of rising inflation and the shock of oil prices. Infrastructure is one of the ways to recover from this disaster.
“Our message to the next prime minister is not new, but it needs to be reiterated: investment in both large-scale infrastructure projects and more modest regional and local initiatives is essential. For instance, without large investments in energy infrastructure, such as offshore renewables, we won’t be able to establish a cost-effective, sustainable, and secure energy supply and attain net zero.
“The infrastructure industry can do more than just construct; it can design with outcomes for community, value, and sustainability at a scheme’s core to develop the economy and level up. To build infrastructure that enables people to live and work in their local communities as efficiently as possible, innovation and the use of new technologies must be encouraged.
“Building sustainable, well-insulated, functional houses connected by safe, dependable public transportation options is essential to developing the UK’s economy, with a particular emphasis on fostering job growth, skill development, and economic success in areas that most need it.
“Liz Truss has outlined her goal of creating a “aspiration nation” full of opportunities, with local communities revitalized in a similar manner to London Docklands. Her promise to complete the “full fat” Northern Powerhouse Rail project, which would spur investment and development in significant northern cities, is encouraging. Her goals are centered on addressing the cost of electricity. The industry is equipped with the know-how and readiness to deliver this.
“As an industry, we are aware of the urgent demands placed on the public purse and the fact that people will require short-term, temporary solutions to the issue brought on by rising living expenses. But we beg the incoming prime minister to make long-term investments as well, with a clear pipeline of projects that can be completed, and to give the sector the tools it needs to create resilient infrastructure that addresses the core causes of many of our issues.
“In uncertain times, the election of Liz Truss to lead the Tory party was perfectly foreseeable,” said Peter Hogg, UK cities director at Arcadis. Predicting her first actions as a politician is more fascinating. On the one hand, her natural inclination will be to follow Margaret Thatcher’s laissez-faire, low tax, small government, and “let the market decide” guiding principles. On the other hand, she has already hinted at a government prepared to “go all-in” to address the expense of living problem by taking significant and early action on residential energy bills that rivals the interventionism of the pandemic measures.
“The PM’s decision to take action to mitigate the effects of the cost of living problem is both predictable and appropriate. Nevertheless, doing so while delivering on long-promised tax cuts makes public spending and investments in growth appear vulnerable as the Treasury works to preserve money to pay for the tax cuts ahead of growth. We must continue to invest in skills, infrastructure, and a low-carbon economy while showcasing our reputation as a trustworthy trade partner if we want to unlock the UK’s potential for development and attract foreign investment.
“Continuing to cooperate with business and our foreign partners to invest in the skills, infrastructure, and rules-based business climate that will provide dependable, sustainable development is the greatest way that the next PM can safeguard the country’s long-term economic future. Although deregulation and low taxes are vital and have their place, we shouldn’t fall into the trap of believing that they are a solution in and of themselves.
The CEO of VU.CITY, Jamie Holmes, stated: “Now that Liz Truss has officially been appointed prime minister, her toughest challenge still lies ahead of her: attracting red wall supporters and preserving a Conservative majority in the upcoming general election.
“Leveling up was not a campaign theme for either candidate, and breaking pledges to ‘level up’ underdeveloped towns and cities, along with a string of political scandals, is the ideal prescription for mistrust and disappointment. The Conservatives’ 12-year rule might collapse if a gulf develops between them and the electorate, rendering them fundamentally unviable.
The rifts caused by the leadership contest must be repaired inside the Conservative Party. The government must redouble its efforts to improve or run the danger of permanently losing the nation’s faith.
While it became clear over the last few weeks that Liz Truss has won the hearts and minds of the Conservative membership, winning over the rest of the UK – and that includes across all four nations – will be a difficult fight, according to Matthew Ace, director of Hydrock.
Since the leadership race got under way in early July, neither of the two front-runners has given any sign that they have a solid strategy for cooperating with Wales’ devolved government. Truss and Sunak have, if anything, used their campaigns to attack the Welsh government with insulting remarks and Conservative scepticism of devolution. This has been a common strategy used by succeeding administrations and tenants of Number 10 and is still a short-sighted move. Now that the cost-of-living problem has been addressed, Truss should immediately focus on a plan of partnership with The Senedd to encourage levelling up and increase investment in Wales.
Who knows what will happen to Boris’ promised “levelling up” under new leadership, said to Danny Crump, director of urbanism at Broadway Malyan. Where British people live, work, and play must be the main focus of Truss. Despite the recent demise of the high street, a new system of delegated regional planning management may revolutionise town and city centres throughout the north-west, Yorkshire, and the north-east and serve as the cornerstone for the reconstruction of our most troubled areas.
Congratulations to Liz Truss on becoming the next prime minister, said Professor Joe Howe, head of the North West Hydrogen Alliance and energy professor at the University of Chester. In light of the current state of the economy, she and Jacob Rees-Mogg will both have urgent jobs to complete right now. In recent years, the government has promoted the benefits of decarbonization for boosting employment, securing the future of British industry, and lowering consumer costs. To guarantee that crucial time and momentum are not squandered, a number of projects need the PM’s immediate attention.
“The new UK government must step up its efforts to combat climate change, and advancing the hydrogen economy should be at the center of this. We are urging the next administration to step up its aspirations, reaffirm its dedication to green energy investment, quicken its net zero pledges, and guarantee the stability of the hydrogen policy. In turn, this will boost energy security by giving the public and private sectors the confidence they need to start up large infrastructure projects.
The UK Green Building Council’s (UKGBC) Simon McWhirter commented: “The next prime minister is correct to promise quick action to cope with skyrocketing energy prices.
“If Liz Truss wants to control prices, she must address both energy waste and low-carbon supply in her long-term strategy. Every uninsulated window, wall, roof, and door costs homes, companies, and public buildings more money to keep the heat inside. An emergency subsidy package would imply that the government would also be responsible for paying the bill for years to come absent a significant effort to increase energy efficiency.
“By proposing a national initiative to modernize our structures and switch from gas to renewable energy for our heating systems, the prime minister may solve many issues. In addition to lowering the need for government borrowing, the skilled employment and economic boost that would result from this would significantly aid in leveling out and the recovery of the country.
The built environment industry’s prospects and difficulties must be addressed by the prime minister as the next item on his agenda. Despite being the second greatest source of carbon emissions in the UK and the root of some of the most urgent environmental and social problems, there has been little progress in the last ten years in decarbonizing the nation’s buildings.
Liz Truss declared that she intends to start digging and erecting houses, schools, and hospitals. We urgently need to cease approving new construction that is not suited for net zero and will inevitably require retrofitting in the future to fulfil our climate targets and to adapt to heatwaves, floods, and drought. Hundreds of thousands of new houses and structures are planned over the coming years. One quick opportunity to go in the right direction is the Future Homes and Buildings Standard, which is scheduled to be implemented in 2025, but the ideas made so far are woefully insufficient.
The type of new development that we all desire, including sustainable, high-quality houses, buildings, and infrastructure that is connected to other systems and located in the appropriate areas, requires a redesign of our planning system. To ensure that the English planning system complies with the UK’s climate obligations and objectives for nature recovery, UKGBC is urging Truss to alter the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill.
The construction sector is prepared to assist the next prime minister and administration in achieving these national ambitions.
Jo Field, president of Women in Transport, stated: “At Women in Transport, we expect to see Liz Truss utilise her position of power to focus on gender inequities as the third woman to become prime minister in UK history. Women won’t be able to reach their potential until they are represented in decision-making processes and have their opinions heard in all relevant businesses.
The latest numbers from Transport for London show Tube usage at 95% of pre-pandemic levels, showing demand is continuing to rise. We hope the incoming administration will give assisting the transport industry recover from the pandemic top priority.
The development of new positions in greener transportation is made possible by aiding the transportation industry’s ongoing recovery from the epidemic. Many of our members, according to the results of our most recent poll on gender perspectives and experiences, believe that sustainable transportation solutions are essential to the future of transportation and that women must play a critical role in advancing these solutions.
“We also implore the next prime minister to address the rising cost of living situation, which is deeply concerning many of our members and women nationwide. To guarantee that women are not disproportionately impacted by increased prices, financial help must be offered.