Covid-19: Businesses and the Private Sector

Lord Caine Excerpts

Thursday 21st May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Caine (Con)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend Lord Dobbs for securing this debate—I hesitate to use that word—and congratulate him on his speech. I echo many of his sentiments, including those about getting this House back to work.

The private sector is the engine room of a thriving, prosperous and free economy, and throughout the pandemic it has undoubtedly stepped up to the mark. Noble Lords have referred to many examples of the private sector helping in the national effort against the virus. I wish to refer to one sector: food.

Despite a few bumps with panic buying early on, the UK’s food and farming sectors have done an outstanding job in ensuring continuity of supply, choice and quality. That includes producers, retailers, large supermarkets, and all those down to small butchers—including my own here in Leeds—and grocery stores. Capitalism has kept our nation fed.

As many noble Lords have pointed out, looking ahead, it will be the private sector that leads our economy out of its Covid-induced recession and back to growth. Those who believe that the crisis has made the case for greater state control and intervention could not be more wrong. This country needs more capitalism, not less.

However, in backing private enterprise to help get our country back on its feet, I have one plea. Given the state of the public finances, it would be tempting for any Chancellor of the Exchequer quickly to impose higher taxes and burdensome regulations. I suggest that that risks strangling any recovery at birth and sending many more small businesses to the wall; a lesson that, alas, seems to be lost on that fledgling student politician, the Mayor of London. We need to get out of lockdown, get the UK back to work—including this House—and give business the freedom to thrive.