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Global Britain: the UK's role on the world stage

Annual Conference: our panellists aim to answer one of the country’s most pressing questions – what should the UK’s global role be in the future?

05 Nov 2020, 5 min read

With the end of the Brexit transition looming and the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, our panellists discuss what Britain’s global role should be in the future. Key themes of the discussion include replicating the UK’s current economic successes to increase global economic presence; leading the world on environmental issues through the UK’s chairing of COP 26; preserving the prominence of London as a global hub; and embracing the changes brought on by the pandemic.

Speakers

  • Lord Karan Bilimoria – President, CBI
  • Stephanie Flanders - Senior Executive, Bloomberg
  • Zanny Minton Beddoes - Editor-In-Chief, The Economist
  • Alison Rose – CEO, NatWest Group
  • Michelle Scrimgeour – CEO, L&G Investment Management
  • Chuka Umunna - Executive Director, Edelman
  • James Harding - Co-Founder & Editor, Tortoise Media

Watch the session

At a glance: key takeaways from the session

  • Learn from the global success of the UK’s top companies and aim to replicate across other firms
  • Lead the world on environmental issues through chairing COP 26 and pushing for R&D investment
  • Preserve and utilise London’s successes in finance, technology and the creative sectors
  • Embrace the changes resulting from COVID-19, particularly shifting economic demand and the reallocation of workers.

“Think global, act local”

The UK needs to remember what it is good at: the spirit of pragmatism, standards setting, innovation and economic resilience, argued Michelle Scrimgeour, CEO of L&G Investment Management. We should learn from Britain’s world beating companies and help to roll this out for companies UK-wide.

The top 10% of UK companies are world beating, whilst the remaining companies often lag behind international competitors. We must learn from the top 10%, find out what is being done right and replicate it across the UK. “Think global, act local” as put by Stephanie Flanders, Senior Executive at Bloomberg.

This could help the UK solve its productivity puzzle – alongside macro issues like better infrastructure; a more highly skilled workforce and shifting the country’s focus to anticipated high demand post-covid industries, outlined Zanny Minton Beddoes, Editor-In-Chief of The Economist. Positive changes are already happening in this area: L&G Investment Management have invested £28bn into infrastructure which supports the inclusive capitalism agenda.

Lead the world on environmental issues

The UK has huge potential to lead the world on array of issues, particularly regarding the environment. Zanny Minton Beddoes highlighted the chairing of COP 26 next year as a key opportunity to do so, alongside leading by example on regulatory system changes and pushing for greater R&D investment.

Chuka Umunna, Executive Director at Edelman, believes the countries who emerge strongest from the COVID-19 pandemic are those who have chosen to take ESG (environment, social responsibility & governance) issues seriously. As money is passed down from baby boomers to millennials, there is an increasing demand from young investors that their personal values are adhered to, and this is a big factor in the changing allocation of capital. Penalising companies will not work: rather we need a cultural change in business and a shift to focusing on long-term sustainable business models, stated Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest Group.

Preserve London’s prominence

As a global centre for sustainable finance and innovation, London is well placed to lead the UK’s charge on the environment. Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest adds that the city is also a fintech hub and a centre for entrepreneur, so therefore has a key role to play in both delivering sustainable finance and the technologies which will help cut global emissions. Providing we recognise London’s strength, we can collaborate and lead on the world stage.

Chukka Umunna argued we cannot overlook the role of the creative sectors in enhancing both London and the UK’s voice around the world. It is within the city’s ability to respond to these challenges and remain business friendly and, as summarised by CBI President Lord Karan Bilimoria, “London is the greatest of the world’s great cities. Let us keep it that way.”.

Embrace the changes presented by the pandemic

Finally, the panellists agreed that the UK must embrace the reallocation of workers and capitalise on shifting economic demand. There are twice as many workers in the UK on furlough compared to France or Germany. Zenny Minton Beddoes argues we do not know what the post-coronavirus economy will look like and, rather than extending furlough to protect jobs that might have no future, we could instead increase the generosity of Universal Credit. Stephanie Flanders urged caution: the world is still unsure on what economic shifts will happen, so we should avoid prejudging what jobs will have no future. Chukka Umunna stressed compromise by retaining furlough for companies that need a bridge into the new tomorrow, and for those ‘non-viable businesses’ the government should massively ramp up Universal Credit.