Why it's time to put business at the heart of our economic ambition
Across Europe, and here in Wales, governments are watching with unease as the machinery of the US state increasingly bends toward the will of private interests and populist agendas. The “Trump Effect” isn’t just about one man. It’s about the creeping privatisation of democracy, the blurring of lines between governance and business, influence and opportunism.
But while this phenomenon is rightly alarming, it’s also acting as a wake-up call. There’s more than one way to put business at the heart of government.
Far from turning government into a business, the real opportunity comes from government understanding that without business, there is no economy to govern. That without generating intellectual property, appropriate skills to spawn and support entrepreneurs and job creators, there are no wages to tax, no ideas to scale, and no future to build as we cannot become investable either.
For too long, we’ve coasted on the assumption that public institutions alone can deliver economic security and social progress. That if we just vote well, fund wisely, and regulate fairly, prosperity will follow. But the truth is starker. We live in a largely capitalist society and in capitalism, power flows to those who create value, generate jobs, and take risks. In other words, entrepreneurs, innovators, and businesses.
Wales has extraordinary potential. From green energy to advanced manufacturing and creative industries, with sub-sectors ranging from semi-conductors to film production, we are bursting with opportunity. But to turn potential into progress, we need to put business where it belongs – at the very centre of our economic strategy.
If we want to compete globally, we need to do more than subsidise and support. We need to empower and accelerate. That means treating enterprise as essential infrastructure, not as a side project. It means building policy with business, not just for business. And it means trusting the people who are willing to take risks, invest capital, and create jobs, not just our hard-working professional politicians who comment on it from the sidelines.
We need a breadth of experience drawn from private and public sectors to engender collective intelligence, diversity and delivery capability, not talking but doing.
There is a beckoning opportunity to recognise where the government state can be better bedfellows though a rise of the regions approach, where smart production and boutique service specialisms in the sectors of strength come to the fore.
Because the alternative, leaving our future solely in the hands of political systems that are slow, reactive, and often disconnected from economic reality, is not just unwise. It's dangerous and stifling progress.
The Trump Effect is showing us, in real-time, what happens when public institutions lose their grip, and when government becomes a vehicle for ideology and political self-interest rather than ambition which can absorb the welfare requirements, housing and social inclusion that creates a fairer, greener and stronger nation.
We, of course, shouldn't mimic that model, but we should learn from it. And what we should learn is that if we want a stable, prosperous future, we need to root our economy in the real world. In value creation. In productivity. In business.
“Globalism” as we knew it has been spun on its head. It's time for regions and local areas to step up. Near shore, build resilient supply chains, create the conditions for success at the micro-level and value what we do because it is distinct and it’s of our place. Local industrial strategy must become the focus.
Wales must now choose to compete, not just with grants and good intentions but with innovation and resilience, creating a competitive edge and a renewed partnership between public ambition and private enterprise which will generate return for re-investment and self-sufficiency.
The clock is ticking. The world is moving fast. And the time for polite hesitation is over. It's time for our business voices to speak louder than before.
