Pick Everard and Lichfields have published a review of Labour’s first 100 days in power, with respondents saying Labour must prioritise funding
Pick Everard and Lichfields have published a report regarding Labour’s first 100 days in government, with the results saying Labour must prioritise funding.
The report asked respondents about their main concerns, and what they would like to see.
Labour prioritising funding is key to improving market conditions
With the Autumn budget to be set in a little over a week’s time, 74% of respondents stated that the PM’s gloomy message ahead of the budget had increased market uncertainty, and had failed to incentivise the industry to invest.
76% of respondents also raised concerns about the industrial strategy, especially as it did not mention construction, in spite of one of Labour’s slogans being to “get Britain building again.”
Another question was regarding interest rate cuts. In spite of a lot of optimism around borrowing potential in August, 62% of respondents now say that the shift has not had any effect on delivering attractive market finance options.
Recent company collapses are a bad sign for the market
Gavin Mason, operations director at Pick Everard, said: “Recent industry casualties do bring into sharp focus how realistic the government’s plan to expand housing and infrastructure construction is, especially with viability appraisals already so challenging in a changeable interest rate environment.
“Such collapses also draw attention to the ability of construction companies to trade through many years of poor underlying performance by expanding their turnover. Fundamentally this is an unstable way to manage the delivery of projects, train the necessary people to deliver the work, and control the cost of projects.
“The solution, rather than adding too much additional government bureaucracy, will lie within the clients, professional teams and auditors with the right skills. Getting these partners to identify and reward well run businesses with repeat work, rather than downplaying the risks and contracting on the basis of artificially low pricing.”
