by Jo James, chief executive of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce

Does it feel to you like we are in a “Stop-Start Britain”?

I often feel this way, particularly when looking at the way Britain handles big decisions on infrastructure projects, by pushing their costs into the stratosphere and generating uncertainty for potential private investors.

I also feel this way when government ministers claim they are simplifying the tax system, and then use every Budget to tinker with it to suit their own ends.

And it doesn’t end there. “Stop-start” is also the way ministers reform or modernise public services – the long and painful process of the Royal Mail privatisation announced last month being a case in point. Or the way Whitehall constantly rehashes qualifications, apprenticeships and school curricula.

“Stop-Start Britain” is a country where businesses get frustrated and choose solid, steady performance rather than taking risks for growth, because they don’t know whether the underlying environment will be benevolent, benign, or hostile.

Wittingly or unwittingly, the political culture of this country contributes to a “small c” business conservatism that becomes tough to change – even though Chamber members are so often the dynamic exception to the rule. Along with the British Chambers of Commerce, Kent Invicta Chamber continues to campaign for policy certainty, stability, and clarity. We are about getting the conditions right for a “Full-Speed-Ahead Britain”.

While we can point to incremental improvements, like the announcement on regulation that enacts the Chamber movement’s recommendations to simplify health and safety and employment tribunals, there’s so much yet to do.

We as businesses must continue to demand long-termism from our politicians, shine a light on gimmicks and distractions, and remind our elected leaders and unelected civil servants that only a truly enterprise-friendly environment will enable business growth.

The thinking now around a more federated model for the South East Local Enterprise Partnership will certainly open up the business voice within it, which can only be a positive move. I feel we do have a strong “Team Kent” both from a public and private sector point of view, with both sides working collaboratively to achieve the same goals – growth, jobs, and prosperity. If only those in Westminster and Whitehall took the same approach.