General Election: Industry welcomes call for stability

The decision by the Prime Minister to call for a general election to be held on June 8 has been welcomed by the UK plastics and manufacturing industries in the hope it will bring stability to business. 

Theresa May made the announcement during a speech outside 10 Downing Street this morning (April 18), where she said that calling an election would bring unity in Westminster and end the “political game playing” that could risk the ability to make a success of Brexit during the upcoming period of difficult negotiations. 

Philip Law, Director-General of the British Plastics Federation (BPF), told British Plastics and Rubber: “Clearly this is motivated by Brexit. If the outcome of this election increases certainty for businesses in the UK, then it is to be welcomed. The worst scenario would be an equivocal result that muddies the waters.”

Ms. May said that she had “recently and reluctantly” come to the conclusion that a general election was needed before 2020, adding that she felt it is “the only way to guarantee certainty and stability” for the years ahead. 

Terry Scuoler, Chief Executive of EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, welcomed the decision by the Prime Minister to seek a clear mandate. “The last year has been one of considerable uncertainty which, if it had gone on unchecked, would have risked hampering future investment,” he commented. 

“We have significant negotiations to undertake with our partners in the rest of Europe and, doing this with a fresh and stable mandate from the country can only provide greater certainty about the future direction of travel for policy, and the potential to seek the best deal possible for the UK.”

The Prime Minister said that the General Election was an opportunity for opposition politicians that have so far objected to the Government’s plans for Brexit to “show [they] mean it” and not doing it “for the sake of it”.

She added that the upcoming vote was about leadership, and it was for the people to decide who they wanted to steer the UK through its exit from the European Union. 

Kevin Horne, Managing Director of Renmar Plastics Machinery, told BP&R: Some might say it is a brave move, other may say foolish, but I think the country has accepted the Brexit situation and I hope Ms. May will get the backing she deserves to push on through with it.”