The other day I saw Gordon Brown’s infamous YouTube video announcing his instant crackdown on MPs’ expenses which he was instantly told won’t happen.
To be honest, I came across Mr Brown by accident as he featured between “NASCAR’s all-time wackiest crashes” and Britain’s Got Talent highlights. But he did make me think as he aired just after I’d heard a plaintive post-Budget cry of “what do you have to do to get through to this government?”. It came from a backer of the Get Britain Building (GBB) campaign and he was despairing that the chancellor last week failed to follow its advice and cut VAT on repair maintenance and improvement work, or indeed, in his view, take any significant action to get UK building moving again. So perhaps that’s the answer, a GBB video on YouTube.
Certainly, say leaders of the leading construction industry supply bodies, including the timber sector organisations, if their message on the seriousness of the situation in the sector is not listened to soon, the repercussions will be grave; more companies will go under, more jobs and skills will be lost and the country will fall ever further behind its targets to build urgently needed new homes.
The tone of the budget reviews from these organisations captured the sense of urgency. Builders Merchants Federation boss Chris Pateman expressed “dismay” and said that construction felt let down. Richard Lambert at the British Woodworking Federation described the budget as too timid and said, in potentially withdrawing public sector construction spending before the private takes up the slack, also risked “choking recovery”.
Admittedly the chancellor’s scheme to free up trade credit insurance drew some plaudits. But these were undoubtedly outweighed by disappointment at the non-action on an RMI VAT cut. This, it is generally felt, could give a huge boost to?UK building and its suppliers. And while it would cost, it would also leave a lasting legacy of better, more energy-efficient housing.
The good news is that GBB is not going to let the matter lie. It is urging its backers to bombard MPs with a mass letter-writing campaign on the issue. So get writing. Better still, perhaps, get YouTubing too.
