Trading places home

Comparative advantages in a competitive world

How does the UK rank as a competitive location

How business uses the world as a source of competitive advantage

Building a UK competitiveness policy

Business and government must jointly own the competitiveness agenda

The challenge laid down by global competition requires a joint agenda to be developed by the UK. Over the years, business and government have seen
themselves as separate champions of the cause with little in common. This state of affairs has arguably further cooled recently.

In the end, wealth creation in UK business and society is driven by the desire to add value through the combination of skills, innovation and creativity, and investment. A joint agenda framework must be established and binding actions placed against it if the UK is to retain its position in the world rankings.

It is vital that all parts of UK rise to the challenge. There is much to be proud of in the UK’s competitive performance. Our research shows that comparatively we have world-class businesses and strong Government focused on the challenges
ahead. However, both need to shorten their time frames to keep pace with the speed at which competition is accelerating . Business and government also need to ramp up their combined efforts if the UK is to maintain and enhance its position as a leading competitive nation of the 21st century.