We live in amazing times. The UK electorate voted in July for a serious-minded government, committed to better public services, and an economy focused on growth and a sustainable energy transition, but according to the media they are already suffering buyers’ remorse. The US electorate, having tried such an approach for four years, have just elected Donald Trump. We don't yet know, if they will suffer similar regrets. A common feature of both countries is that trust in politicians is low.

The UK government is following a classical business turnaround approach, which will incur pain before economic gain. Inevitably, this is bearing down hard on consumers and consumer-facing businesses, but, short of magic, what was the alternative? Trust has to be earned, and this does not happen overnight. The focus on home-building must be right, given the serious effects of housing costs on young families. The scale of the building programme will expose supply chain problems in skills for which the only solution will be training local staff or importing foreign labour.

The government has a strong mandate, but also faces a comprehensive set of challenges at home and abroad. To help make the UK economy more productive, three actions appear worth trying: First, strengthening Civil Service skills in the areas of procurement and value for money. Second, adopting policies that encourage intelligent risk capital formation as opposed to the extractive model that pervades UK privatised services. Thirdly, addressing some glaring public sector problems such as the poor records and communications systems which bedevil the NHS, and don't necessarily need high-tech solutions. Similarly, the abysmal state of railway ticketing and passenger information could be addressed quite quickly and would save consumers and businesses costs and frustration.

Early in the New Year, we are planning a House of Commons business reception, to continue meeting ministers and new backbenchers. Baroness Jacqui Smith has agreed to lead a roundtable, on the vital topic of 'Fixing the Skills Crisis.' and Bill Esterson is going to speak about the Energy Transition. We are organising a series of member-sponsored House of Commons dinners on key issues, including AI opportunities, cybersecurity, and intellectual property. We are also inviting Keir Starmer's five backbench mission ambassadors to speak about plans and progress for the five ambitious, cross-departmental missions, upon which so much depends. These meetings will give members the opportunity to meet some new, up-and-coming MPs, who have strong sector skills and expertise.

We wish all our members and friends Happy Holidays and look forward, enthusiastically, to working with you in a busy and productive 2025.

Turnarounds take time but are worthwhile