As I leave the CBI at the end of my term as Director-General, and after our 2020 Annual Conference earlier this week, I just wanted to share with you a few reflections.  

This could not be a more challenging time for firms seeking to plan and chart their future. Changes come almost daily: the weekend news of a second England lockdown, an extension to furlough just hours before it was due to end, a new tiering system for Scotland, increased restrictions in Northern Ireland; and Wales confirming an end to its firebreak on 9 November. And of course, firms needing certainty over the UK’s future relationship with the EU.

But with so much of 2020 focused on reacting to the pandemic, this year’s Annual Conference theme of Build Back Better created an important opportunity to think long term as well as short term.  

For me, the theme of renewed collaboration was the most vivid of the conference. So many speakers reflected the message that together we are stronger. Government is stronger when working alongside business and trade unions. Firms are stronger when united to tackle common challenges – as we saw with their response to PPE and hand sanitiser shortages earlier this year. And undoubtedly, the CBI is stronger with your support and the support of thousands of firms like yours.

Across the CBI’s three-day Annual Conference, we heard bold visions for the UK’s economic future from Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Business Secretary Alok Sharma and Leader of the Opposition Sir Keir Starmer. They all spoke with passion about goals we share, from green growth and digital adoption to skills investment and renewed infrastructure. And they all made a commitment to business-government collaboration, with the Prime Minister confirming that ‘the door to Number 10 will always be open to business and the CBI’, and Sir Keir pledging to ‘back British business to make it easier to grow, to succeed and to expand’.  

These themes were picked up with inspiration and passion by our other speakers. Topics ranged from leading fundamental change, to the future of the economy, and trust in business. We heard from General Secretary of the TUC Frances O’Grady, who spoke of the importance of getting around a table to work together on the most important issues, recognising that “you can represent different interests and find common threads”, and from John Amaechi OBE on inclusion and representation: “there will be a swift judgement of organisations for whom this is about rhetoric, not action.”