9 March 2010
This morning the Industry and Parliament Trust (IPT) held a breakfast briefing in the House of Commons discussing what the shape of the UK economy would look like after the upcoming General Election.
Whilst enjoying a full English breakfast delegates listened to three MPs give their opinions on this topic. Our friends from Parliament were:
Andy Love MP, Member of Treasury Select Committee
David Gauke MP, Conservative Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury
John Pugh MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister to the Treasury
Sally Muggeridge, CEO of the IPT chaired the event.
There were obviously some differing view, but all three agreed there wasn't a crystal ball to predict the financial forecast and that 2011 - not 2010 - would arguably be more significant in gauging the economic situation post-election.
The discussion touched on a number of areas such as the need for a different attitude towards learning, shortage of skills, the manufacturing sector, government funding and parliamentary and public-sector reform, with the delegates asking some probing questions!
The delegates came from a variety of sectors and organisations ranging from educational bodies to multinationals, helping to create a lively and interesting discussion on how a new Parliament after the General Election could affect their business.
