East Midlands: Business chief says region is the trend-setter for leading the economic recovery

George Cowcher, chief executive of the Notts, Derbyshire and Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce was speaking after the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) upgraded its GDP growth forecasts for this year and next year from 3.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent in 2014 and from 2.7 per cent to 2.8 per cent in 2015.

Mr Cowcher said: “It’s encouraging to see that the BCC has upgraded its forecast for the UK economy in the year ahead and I believe the East Midlands will play a major part in driving the country’s economic growth over the next 12 months.”

“A year ago, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney described the region as a ‘bellwether for the UK economy’.”

“It has since seen the highest rate of growth in the UK and has moved from being a bellwether to a national trend-setter.”

“The key now is to make sure that we don’t do anything that will damage that growth, such as increasing interest rates too early or otherwise reducing business confidence.”

“Government money allocated for business investment through various growth funds must be released to businesses and we must continue to drive exports to ensure we increase our balance of trade, which is something the chamber and its partners are driving.”