Aviation is in an unholy mess and government is guilty of 'warm words and cold action', businessman complains
Willie Walsh, the British Airways chief executive, will launch an excoriating attack on the government on Thursday for the absence of a coherent growth plan, accusing ministers of "warm words and cold action".
At the British Chambers of Commerce conference in London, he will say this government and the last Labour administration "produce a growth strategy every week, but none of them up add up to anything".
Walsh, speaking alongside Vince Cable, the business secretary, and Nick Clegg, the deputy prime minister, will warn: "Every document is the same. The words are always warm but they go cold waiting for action."
Clegg plans to announce a government review into tax breaks to encourage more common employee ownership.
Walsh, one of the toughest and most successful UK businessmen, will warn that the government needs to address current aviation policy which he describes as an "unholy mess", otherwise Britain will be locked out of the emerging export markets.
"Other nations are reducing their business tax rates, investing in their infrastructure and improving their education systems. Are we keeping pace? I don't think so.
"Britain is falling down the rankings in the race to be competitive. Not long ago, we were in the ChampionsLeague spots. In the World Economic Forum global competitiveness report, we are now 10th.
"At our best, we had the third lowest corporate tax in the EU-15. Now we are eighth. In international rankings of excellence in maths, we've fallen from eighth to 28th. In science, we have gone from fourth to 16th.
"In the last three months of last year, business investment fell by 5.6%. It's little wonder we have such poor growth when we do so little to make it happen."
Walsh will also bewail the fact that the UK exports more to Ireland than Brazil, Russia, China and India put together.
He plans to ridicule the business department by saying: "Under this government, we have seen the Strategy for Sustainable Growth, The Path to Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth and The Plan for Growth. The last government had a strategy every second week and a plan every third week.
"But none of them really added up to anything … they all have the same obvious 'wouldn't it be nice to have?' list of ambitions, such as competitive tax systems, good environments to start a business or encourage exports."
He will also accuse the government of leaving the UK without a feasible aviation policy, highlighting that there are 21 merging market destinations served from other European hubs but not from the UK: "If we do not have a hub airport that links us directly to world growth, we will suffer for it.
"If you're interested in doing business in Guangzhou or Shenyang – and you will be – then I advise you to start out from Frankfurt rather than London. I don't like giving that message. It's ominous, I know. But it's true."
He will reject the idea that the problem can be solved by a train link between Heathrow and Gatwick, dubbed Heathwick, describing the idea as absurd as its name.
He will praise the idea of an airport in the Thames estuary as an example of thinking big, but will point out it is an idea whose time never comes, since it has been discussed in Britain for four decades without result.
Clegg plans to say: "The Treasury will be looking across the board at the tax system to make sure UK tax rules are not a barrier to employee ownership."
He will point out existing tax breaks in this area are worth £650m annually: "That is no small amount. But are those incentives working? How do the rules impact on decision-making at succession? Are we incentivising genuine employee ownership? So not just putting tax breaks on director's profits, but providing benefits that are felt across the shop floor? And, when profits are distributed, are we really encouraging employees to look at taking shares, rather than automatically opt for cash bonuses?"