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Posts by Tony Caldeira
Following months of speculation, anticipation and in some cases dread, the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) will finally be delivered by Chancellor George Osborne today.
Now I must declare an interest at this point. As well as owning my manufacturing businesses, I am also the Chairman of the City of Liverpool Conservatives and a strong supporter of both David Cameron and George Osborne.
Therefore, like the vast majority of business people, I agree that Britain needs to balance its books over the medium term and that any country must live within its means. I also believe that delaying reducing the deficit poses a far greater long term risk to the British economy than taking the necessary corrective action.
However, for the regions manufacturers, especially those supplying the public sector, there is going to be some short term pain.
Our region's economy is over dependent on the public sector and will suffer in the short term as a result. There will be fewer public sector contracts and reduced overall demand from people who work either directly or indirectly for the government and its agencies.
But there are also positives for manufacturers once the initial pain has subsided.
There will be new opportunities in the private sector and chances for private companies to win government outsourcing contracts. There will also be opportunities for manufacturers to hire high quality people who once worked in the public sector and will unfortunately lose their jobs.
Most importantly, there is a huge opportunity for our region. We have a chance to end our dependency on the public sector and to rebalance our local economy.
If this can be achieved, with more private sector activity and with more manufacturing in particular, Merseyside will become more prosperous place with a more balanced economy.
The long term gain will be worth the short term pain.
Knowsley Authors
Lesley Martin-Wright
Chief Executive, Knowsley Chamber of Commerce.
Lesley Martin-Wright is the newly-appointed chief executive of Knowsley Chamber of Commerce.
Gaynor McGrail
Director at Knowley payroll services firm i_Paye.
Gaynor McGrail is co-founder of i-Paye, which offers payroll and financial services help for contractors, freelancers and self-employed professionals. She founded the company in 2005 with her husband Shaun and last year it topped the LDP Business Hot 100 list of the region's fastest-growing businesses.
Manufacturing Authors
Tony Caldeira
Managing Director, Caldeira Cushions.
Tony Caldeira is managing director of Caldeira Cushions. The company operates manufacturing sites both in Merseyside and in China.
Edward Moss
Public Relations and Communications, Manufacturing Advisory Service.
Edward Moss, Public Relations and Communications, Manufacturing Advisory Service.
The Manufacturing Advisory Service (www.mas-nw.co.uk)offers manufacturing companies practical, hands-on support in all aspects of manufacturing to help achieve improvements in productivity and competitiveness. Since 2002, MAS North West, which is part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and delivered in the region by The Manufacturing Institute, has helped manufacturers to generate financial returns totalling ã739 million and to safeguard 8790 jobs. The Manufacturing Institute (www.manufacturinginstitute.co.uk) is an independent charity - driven by manufacturers for manufacturers. For 15 years, The Manufacturing Institute has helped transform manufacturing performance, working with over 4000 companies to gain competitive advantage from high impact skills building and productivity improvement programmes.
David Ost
North West regional director for EEF
David Ost, North West regional director for EEF.
David Ost is the North West regional director for EEF, the organisation for manufacturing, engineering and technology-based businesses, which operates a regional office in Warrington.
Property Authors
Chris Johnson
Managing Partner, Smith & Sons in Birkenhead
Chris Johnson is managing partner of Smith & Sons in Birkenhead. The firm is one of Merseyside's most prominent commercial property agencies and property auctioneers.
Andrew Owen
Head of business space, Mason Owen
Andrew Owen is head of business space at Liverpool commercial property agency, Mason Owen. The firm operates across the UK with a number of high profile clients.
Maritime Authors
Stuart Wood
Former Liverpool senior pilot interested in the maritime world
Stuart Wood, former Liverpool senior pilot, retired last June after 41 years holding his pilotâÂÂs licence. He interested in all aspects of the maritime world, principal of which is his perpetual love affair with the River Mersey.
Jim Teasdale
Chief Executive of Mersey Maritime
Jim Teasdale is chief executive of Mersey Maritime, overseeing all activities including marketing, lobbying, business development, and training and education. He was formerly chief executive of Birkenhead-based Laird Foundation, a centre of Vocational Excellence in Marine Engineering, and also represented Sea Vision UK in the North West region. Mersey Maritime lobbies for the Merseyside's maritime cluster.
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