Jan 2020 - 02: Can 2020 be the year of not Brexit?

Can 2020 be the year of not Brexit

2019 was a year in which a lot happened in politics;

Government defeats, the fall of a Prime Minister and what may come to be viewed as an era-defining election.

Will 2020 be the same?

First and foremost, it will almost certainly see the UK leave the European Union on the 31st of January.
On one level nothing very much will change because we will enter a transition period designed to give time to agree on a new relationship.

The economic relationship is set to be the most contentious area, one which will bring at least some of the brinkmanship that so marked 2019 into 2020.

The timetable is very tight, but the new Government seems to have set its position against any extension and now has the muscle in the Commons to prevent any manoeuvre by Parliament (a 2020 version of the Benn Act) to override its will.

Whether this will lead to another ‘No Deal’ countdown at the end of the year, remains to be seen.
What matters for manufacturing is that we can maintain our positions in European supply chains.

In many cases these are part of global supply chains – its not one or the other.

Some friction at the border, in the form of more bureaucracy and at least the risk of delay, seems inevitable but we should be able to avoid the re-imposition of tariffs and quotas.

The ability of UK companies to send personnel to Europe, for project engineering or services, is threatened and will be something we will want to see preserved.
As an internationally traded sector it makes economic sense for our companies to manufacture to international standards.

They will continue to do so, and we would wish to continue to be included within the framework of the European Standards bodies, principally CEN.

We want UK Notified Bodies to continue to be able to certify compliance with EU regulations.
The government, elected of course to ‘get Brexit done’, will be keen to be seen to be doing things other than Brexit.

In December’s Queen’s Speech, there was much said about Health and Law and Order, two of the key themes from the election.

There was less about the economy or what ‘business’ can expect, and we will be eagerly awaiting the first Budget of a Johnson Government, postponed from November because of the election.

This is due to be delivered in February.
However, in the wake of the General Election there were some Manifesto commitments that were fulfilled.

At the MTA, we were very pleased at the announcement that R&D Tax Credits are to be extended to cover digital technologies that made it into the Prime Minister’s Foreword (if not the speech itself ).

This welcome move, which the MTA has called for repeatedly, should help SMEs to offset the costs of going digital.
Science and technology are set to be priority areas, with the confirmation that the Government is retaining its target to raise spending on Research and Development to 2.4% of GDP.

In particular, Britain’s Space sector, which is growing fast, looks likely to see further investment. A good place to find out about that is MACH 2020 from April 20th -24th at the NEC at which the Mars Rover, which is under development, will be exhibited.
Leaving the EU and arranging the country’s future relationship with it, will be the single biggest political issue of 2020; being seen to deliver an ambitious package of reform, may well be the Government’s biggest challenge.