It is traditionally a date for demonstrating affection so will the North’s business community be inclined to show any sign of love to Arlene Foster, the leader of the DUP, on Valentine’s Day this year?
Foster is scheduled to have an early morning date today, with some of the North’s key business leaders. She is taking part in a Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce get-together which will bring the leaders of the biggest, local political parties under one roof with members of the local business community to talk about their plans for jobs and the economy before the next set of elections on March 2nd.
Foster is first up to set out her stall on why the business community should vote for her and the DUP. She does so as the “cash for ash” controversy – over a renewable heat incentive programme – rumbles on. The scheme, introduced in 2012 to encourage businesses and other non-domestic users to switch to renewable heating systems, such as biomass boilers and heat pumps, turned out to be deeply flawed.The resulting scandal is the reason why Northern Ireland is facing yet another election, less than 12 months after the last, with its former first minister at the heart of the issue.
This time around the elections also take place against the backdrop of growing concerns about how the North will fare following Brexit. Local firms understandably have a lot of questions they want answered – not least about Brexit but also about whether the proposed introduction of a new lower, rate of corporation tax is still viable next year.
Creating jobs
This week the NI Chamber of Commerce will launch its “5 Leaders; 5 Days” initiative which chamber president, Nick Coburn, says will give political parties the chance to “spell out their views on creating jobs and growing the Northern Ireland economy”.
Coburn, who is the managing director of family owned Ulster Carpets, says the initiative will also give businesses a chance to directly confront political leaders on key issues such as getting the best for Northern Ireland on Brexit.
It could prove uncomfortable for some of them – particularly given the promises they made last year in the run-up to the May elections. Back then the future of the economy was at the heart of all of their pledges with the DUP, who won the majority of the seats, promising to create 50,000 more jobs in the next Assembly term and introduce an “upscaling” plan to help more companies “make the step change to become larger employers”, while also delivering a rural jobs focus and investment in skills.
Sinn Féin also pledged to create 50,000 new jobs in the North, “address sub-regional inequalities in investment and job creation” and support universities to ensure they were properly“funded” to deliver the skills “demanded by the economy.
Election promises
Will voters remind the four largest political parties about their previous elections promises about the economy when they set out to win their support in March? By all accounts the business community intends to.
There is a deep sense of frustration when you talk to firms, particularly manufacturers and exporters, about the lack of a plan in Northern Ireland to ensure local businesses are not left worse off following Brexit.
The fact that local elections are even taking place at this time, while businesses believe that political leaders should be putting all their energies into Brexit negotiations and creating the right environment for the smooth introduction of a new corporation tax rate, are also a source of annoyance.
As one business leader lamented earlier this week, the fact that Northern Ireland is still without a budget is worrying enough without dwelling on what might be around the next corner.
With this in mind, there might not be much love for any of the political leaders at the Chamber’s events – despite the time of year.
