The new head of the North East’s largest business organisation has called on companies in the region to embrace the ‘business for good’ agenda to help build a stronger and fairer economy.
Speaking at the North East England Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting, the organisation’s new chief executive John McCabe outlined a range of social, political and environmental issues that he said the Chamber - and the region’s business community - should focus on.
Mr McCabe, a former mayoral candidate in the North of Tyne, said that his career had help him develop “sharp elbows and a loud voice in order to be noticed in Whitehall and Westminster”.
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He also paid tribute to his predecessor James Ramsbotham, who was unable to be at the AGM due to a family bereavement, but who sent a message to the event to mark the end of his 15 year stint at the Chamber.
Addressing chamber members, Mr McCabe said: “Performance excellence and environmental stewardship; community engagement; diversity, inclusivity and well-being; opportunity, social mobility and the future of work; environmental stewardship and good governance.
“These are the issues and causes that are driving good businesses large and small and this is the agenda the Chamber has to embrace.
“It’ll take us beyond the role our forebears had envisaged for the Chamber but it will be true to their founding ethos of collaboration and mutuality.
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“And if we create a network of good businesses, we will build a stronger, future-proofed economy, underpinning a better, fairer, greener society.
“We’ll unleash the full potential of our people, including the Chamber’s own team, enabling them to contribute more to their region.”
The Chamber has become a frequent critic of the Government in the last few years, joining forces with other Northern business groups at the end of last week to call for an end to the “historic underinvestment” in the North’s transport network.”
Chamber president Lesley Moody - who also paid tribute to Mr Ramsbotham for his time at the Chamber - called on the Government to come good on its ‘levelling up’ election pledge for areas like the North East.
She said: “In October the Chancellor will set out Government’s spending plans for the next three years. He will be under enormous pressure to address public finances following the massive increase in spending brought about by Covid.
“But it would be short-sighted in the extreme for him to make decisions that ultimately hinder or reverse any progress towards levelling up. Instead, he must recognise both the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on regions like ours and our potential to make a much bigger contribution to the national economy.”
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