Short-term investment will boost GDP, says chamber
West Midland business leaders have stressed the need for greater investment in the region at a faster pace. The call follows the UK's floundering GDP figure, which grew 0.2 per cent in the three months to 30 June.
According to the Office for National Statistics, that number rose slightly on a year-on-year basis to 0.7 per cent.
Ross Gurdin, policy adviser at Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group, suggested that long term, the high-speed rail link will help to boost the economic recovery. However, he urged the government to invest more in short term projects
He said: "Retailers have been forced to begin their summer sales earlier and are offering bargain-basement prices in an effort to remain competitive. Add to that the Japanese earthquake which disrupted manufacturing supply chains, a raft of bank holidays around Easter and high fuel and utility costs and you have an extremely challenging market for businesses in the UK.
"HS2 will create 22,000 jobs in the West Midlands and will boost our regional economy by £1.5bn per year, but it is a long term prospect. The Government needs to invest more in short term projects."
