A|D|S has called on the new Government to boost economic recovery by focusing on bold investment decisions in British industrial sectors that are world leading.
With the British economy needing an immediate boost the new Government can deliver this by committing to maintaining the current defence budget — given that it has fallen by half as a proportion of national wealth over the last 20 years while other department budgets have risen — as well as continuing to support aerospace research and development.
However, in their manifesto the Liberal Democrats have made clear their opposition to Trident and reservations about the UK’s strong performance in defence exports. Furthermore, both the Liberal Democrats and some sections of the Conservative Party have been outspoken in their opposition to civil aviation during the election campaign despite its economic benefits, its relatively small impact on the environment and its publicly stated plans to reduce this impact.
Ian Godden, Chairman of A|D|S, said: “The UK aerospace and defence industries are number one in Europe and second only to the US globally. They offer a strong route out of recession for the UK if our new Government is wise enough to seize the revenue opportunity. Any Government investment in these sectors will see a strong return in high-growth global markets, as has been demonstrated over the last two decades, and such investment will build on existing success rather than seeking to prop up ailing industries elsewhere in our economy.
“The new Government will focus on the economic problems facing the country as their first order of business. This is absolutely the right course of action. Any recovery, however, whether it be as country or a company, must work on both increasing revenue and reducing costs.
“In short, the Government and the country need strong industrial sectors with which to balance the economy and drive our recovery from recession. Aerospace, defence, security and space are just such high-tech, high-skilled sectors and we are ready to deliver for Britain in partnership with our new Government.”
