We've got to come up with new schemes to get British firms moving

Chris Blackhurst
10 Dec 2009

There's now really no doubt about it: if Gordon Brown were a company boss, he would have been fired long ago.

Imagine, if Sir Terry Leahy informed his shareholders that he was going to purge Tesco of executives who were paid too much. They would point out that he'd agreed to the appointment of many of them in the first place and why had he just woken up to the problem? Off you go, Terry.

But not Gordon. Oh no. He stands there and hopes to receive our applause - for saying he's going to curb a wasteful public sector, the same public sector he's presided over for 12 years, first as Chancellor, now as Prime Minister.

Talk about a thick neck - he must have the testicles of an elephant.

And while he's doing that, his sidekick, Alistair Darling, is lecturing bankers on how they must apply the "next-door neighbour" test - can they look their neighbour in the eye and justify what they're doing?

Of course, Alistair will pass his own examination - he's got Gordon for his neighbour and vice versa. The mutual preening over their garden fence must be something to behold.

Darling and Brown are intelligent people. They are, trust me. But clearly something goes badly wrong in translation when the need for poll-boosting soundbites takes hold.

Either that or they really do believe the guff they peddle and really do suppose we will swallow it whole.

Heavens, what it must be like to work with them, particularly as a banker-turned-government minister? Of the many hirings of non-political "goats" for Brown's "government of all the talents" (yes, I know - don't make me laugh), the one that gave me pause was Mervyn Davies.

Actually, I tell a lie - Sir Alan Sugar's did as well, but that's another story. There was Davies, chairman of Standard Chartered, one of the few banks to emerge from the banking crisis not only entirely unscathed but with its reputation actually enhanced (because of that, Standard Chartered chiefs were the ones who helped devise the taxpayer rescue of the other, fallen banks).

He's got the bank nicely positioned in China and the Far East, not reliant on trading in dodgy derivatives, not so exposed to a slump in the West, and he goes and jacks it in to join the Government as minister for trade, investment and small business.

It's still a shock, even now, to come out of the lift in what was the old DTI building, and to see signs pointing to Lord Mandelson's office and to Lord Davies's.

He's a short man and I almost want to shake him and tell him to pull himself together and get back to the City where he belongs - and where he is missed.

But that thought is instantly abandoned in the face of his infectious enthusiasm. He's no different here from how I remember him at Standard Chartered - all bustling, punchy energy, talking non-stop and always in a rush.

Partly, it's the Welsh in him. Partly, it's the relentless drive he's had to possess. But there's no doubt: he does appear to be enjoying himself. Judging by the way his staff respond, they seem to like him as well.

I want to take them to one side and ask how he compares with his predecessor, Lord (Digby) Jones but even if they did want to answer they probably couldn't, on pain of the Official Secrets Act, so I'm left to ponder.

"It's very hard work," says Lord Davies, flopping into a chair. He produces a KitKat. "Lunch," he says, unwrapping it and breaking off a finger. Come on, it's 5pm. Lunch? "Yes," he says, nodding.

"Today, I've had breakfast with the Treasury, a second breakfast with David Miliband, attended a conference on human resources and the economy, taken a phone call in the car, spoken in a debate at the House of Lords on modern languages training, been to a CBI small-business forum of about 50 people and heard their views, signed 40 letters and now I'm seeing you. Then I'm going to a low-carbon event with the Prime Minister at Number 10."

He wants to talk about the London Export Awards the Government is launching (and which the Evening Standard is proud to back). That's the sort of initiative, he says, that is now more crucial than ever.

"The nature of the Government's relationship with business has changed since the crisis. We've got to come up with new schemes to get our businesses moving forwards. The crisis has exposed weaknesses around the world.

"In this country, it's given us an opportunity to work more together - we need more people from government to go into business and vice versa."

He continues, with only the briefest of pauses and a bite of chocolate: "SMEs are the lifeblood of the British economy. Do you know, there are 4.8million small and medium enterprises in the UK?" I didn't.

"I've discovered since doing this job that in London and across the UK we've got an innate ability to talk ourselves down.

"But four of the top 10 universities in the world are here. In material sciences, IT, life sciences, the creative industries, advanced engineering, mobile telephony these are all industries employing young people and in all of them Britain is Number One or Number Two in the world."

Of course, he adds: "We've got to make sure the banks are there with access to finance - we've got to develop a more robust venture capital market.

"Traditionally, British science comes up with a great idea, we sell it and it goes to the US. The iPhone, the internet - they started here - but we don't have a Google, Yahoo or Microsoft."

He's still only on the first chunk of his KitKat. "Women, too. If the UK were to have the same percentage of women in business as the US, instead of 4.8million SMEs we would have 5.6 million. We have to look at what to do to get women into enterprise."

Almost to remind himself, he murmurs: "We need more women on the boards of major companies - I've got the big headhunters coming in to discuss that."

What of his former industry, is that not the future? "Financial services is not going away. London will continue to be pre-eminent in foreign exchange, the wholesale money markets, insurance, commodity trading. London will remain at the heart of the world's financial activity."

On bonuses and risk-pricing, "the banking industry went out of touch with reality. It has got to put its house in order - the industry has got to show restraint.

"Banks have got to hold more capital and investors have got to demand more of the banks in which they invest."

Things are not as bad as they could have been. "Don't forget that 12 months ago we were facing the collapse of the entire system and we're still here."

The challenge we now face is getting the economy back on an even keel. "We've got make sure the finance is there for businesses, we've got to attract more foreign direct investment, get more women into business and we've got to make sure we export more."

That's quite a list. How much of it will be achieved come next early summer and the election, remains to be seen. What will he do then? "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."

But who knows - were I David Cameron, I might think twice about automatically ditching him. Davies does appear to be one goat that is working. He hands me a copy of a book, Brand America.

"That's what we need. Britain has a great brand. We've got an open market and a good labour force.

"We've got to continue to invest in our infrastructure and to be innovative. And we don't have a robust enough venture capital industry. But generally, the UK has all the ingredients it needs."

There's a tap on the door. He's due at the low-carbon event. He grabs another bit of KitKat, then he's off, almost running, to the waiting lift.

The London Export Awards 2010

Presentation of the London Export Awards 2010 will be held on 10 February 2010.

The awards will celebrate the achievements of London's premier international businesses, underlining the importance of exporting for London's economy, highlighting the capital's commercial strengths and encouraging more London businesses to consider international trade as a vehicle for long-term growth and prosperity.

The awards are organised by UK Trade & Investment and have the official support of the Mayor of London.

Eligibility
The awards are open to all London-based SMEs (businesses registered within the M25/any of London's 33 boroughs). Companies may enter if they can provide evidence of how an international trade strategy has translated into results. Companies may enter if they can demonstrate planning and commitment to increase international sales.

Award Categories

• London's Advanced Engineering Exporter of the year

• London's Creative Industries Exporter of the Year

• London's Financial & Business Exporter of the Year

• London's Life Sciences Exporter of the Year

• London's Technology Exporter of the Year

• London's Young Exporter of the Year
(company owners under the age of 30)

All nominees will also be automatically entered into the following two special categories:

London's Best Newcomer to Export
(the winner will be decided by the judging pane)
London's Outstanding Exporter of the Year (the winner will be decided by the readers of the Evening Standard)

To nominate your company, or for more information, please go to www.londonevents.ukti.gov.uk/awards