By Paul Kelso, business and economics correspondent, in Davos

The UK can learn from Donald Trump’s optimistic tone at the start of his second term in office, according to Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

Speaking in Davos, where he is meeting overseas companies, investors, and trade partners at the World Economic Forum, he said he had been struck by the president’s upbeat message and there were many reasons to be optimistic about the UK’s prospects.

‘We have to show we can make a difference’

Asked if he admired the speed with Mr Trump had acted, he told reporters: “I wouldn’t put it in those terms.

“But I listened to the inauguration speech and I think there is a test in most countries in the Western world, with people asking ‘can government deliver for me, can it address the issues?’

“I could see that was part of the picture he was making and detected a very optimistic message. He started the speech with ‘a new golden age has begun’. You could see how he was communicating that part of things.

“It would be wrong to say we should be more like Trump, but we do have to show people that we can make a difference to their lives.”

Doom and gloom

His comments contrast with the gloomy tone initially set by Sir Keir Starmer, who began his premiership with a speech emphasising the economics and social challenges left by the Conservatives.

Market watchers and investors have suggested downbeat messaging contributed to low consumer and business confidence the government is now having to address.

Mr Reynolds has met with firms including Siemens, German power giant RWE, Amazon Web Services and Saudi petrochemical manufacturer SABIC while in Davos.

He said he was stressing to investors the steps the government is taking to remove barriers to business in planning and regulation.

‘We should be really optimistic’

“I think there is a huge issue in the UK where people recognise the tremendous things that we have got – from language, timezone, and higher education to our capital markets,” Mr Reynolds said.

“But there are major problems with how long it takes to build infrastructure in the UK.”

And he said his visit had confirmed his view that the UK had much to be positive about.

“I do think we should be really optimistic for the future,” he said, adding conversations he’s had suggested some firms are interested in listing or redomiciling in the UK.