Tuesday 29 April 2014

Cutting tax and red tape is not enough for Britain's entrepreneurs


There is no doubt that the coalition government could do more to cut taxes and red tape, but this alone is unlikely to dramatically improve the number of globally successful entrepreneurs and businesses.

We need action on four fronts:

First, Britain needs to get better at providing working capital to those thinking of setting up or scaling their business. 

Second we need an immigration policy that is more welcoming to the talent that entrepreneurs need to grow their business. 

Third, we need to be less risk averse, and recognise that most successful entrepreneurs will fail before they succeed. 

Finally and most importantly we need to encourage our entrepreneurs to think big. There is evidence that only 1% of small businesses in the UK have high growth potential, compared with 3% in the US. 

A version of this was published as a letter in the Daily Telegraph 29 April 2014

Material progress on Drug Resistant Infections

The  O’Neill Review  on AntiMicrobial Resistance has led to new initiatives on the development of new diagnostics and drugs along with ...