General Election 2019: Leading fashion & retail bodies respond
Fashion and retail bodies say they welcome the certainty that a clear win for the Conservatives brings in the General Election but have now called for clarity on Brexit.
Boris Johnson's party, which campaigned on a "Get Brexit Done" platform, secured a 66-seat swing in its favour securing 361 seats overall. The Labour vote collapsed by 42 seats leaving it with 203 seats.
Leading fashion and retail organisations have long been arguing for greater clarity on Brexit and a focus on frictionless trade and the ability for the industry to continue to attract the talent it needs to compete on the international stage.
In a statment, the British Fashion Council, led by Caroline Rush CBE said: “The British Fashion Council will keep on working with government to make sure the interests of the British fashion industry are well-represented and heard.
"As an industry worth £32bn to the UK economy, our aim is to make sure that government is aware of our priorities and will help us move the agenda forward on topics including international trade, sustainability, education, training and talent.”
UKFT CEO Adam Mansell said he welcomed the clarity of the result and said the organisation would continue to work with the Government to best serve the interests of the UK fashion and textiles sector.
“Our key priorities for the new government involve securing a Brexit deal that minimises disruption to trade, increasing support for exporters, fixing the skills and training landscape and increasing targeted support for UK manufacturing businesses. We will be urging the government to ensure UK immigration policy reflects the needs of SMEs, alongside increasing support entrepreneurship and encouraging business growth.
"We will also be looking to work with the government to develop and foster innovation, and boost sustainability with the right incentives in place to help change behaviour.”
In its Vision for the UK Retail Industry report the British Retail Consortium said it was urging the Government to focus on key priorities including: to relieve the burden of business rates on retailers; to reform the Apprenticeship Levy System to enable much greater flexibility in the way funds are used; and to bring forward the protections for retail workers of whom 115 experience violence in the workplace every day.
In response to the result its CEO Helen Dickinson OBE said: “We look forward to working with the new Government on the many issues facing retailers. The Prime Minister must now fulfil his manifesto pledge and urgently begin a fundamental review into the broken business rates system to relieve the burden on retail businesses and create a system fit for the 21st century.
“Retailers employ three million people across the UK, making the industry the UK’s largest private sector employer. It is therefore important that the Apprenticeship Levy is made more flexible to enable the industry to use funds for any form of accredited training to suit its skills needs and create a workforce fit for the future. Equally, retailers need to see action from Government to tackle retail violence. Every day, 115 people are attacked at work - no one should go to work in fear.
“It is also vital over the coming days and weeks that the Government commits to bringing clarity on the UK’s future relationship with the EU and pursues a fair deal for consumers that maintains tariff-free, frictionless trade with the EU.
“With retail conditions the toughest they have been for a decade, the Prime Minister must act to support the successful reinvention of retail locations and local communities. We look forward to working with Ministers on a strategy to strengthen the retail industry during this period of unprecedented change.”
Additional reporting: Tom Bottomley
