Northern Ireland is a “perfect testbed for innovation” an event at the 2025 Labour Party Conference has been told.
Members of the NI Chamber and Queen’s University addressed Labour party members in Liverpool’s ACC.
And it came on a day when Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she is facing “harsh global headwinds” as she hinted at further tax rises to come in her November 26 Budget.
She used her conference speech to insist that she would keep control of the public finances and would “not take risks with the trust placed in us by the British people”.
But she acknowledged that her choices had been made “harder” by international events and the “long-term damage” done to the economy.
At the same time, NI Chamber chief executive Suzanne Wylie said “This government has said that growth is its number one ambition, and in the past year, Northern Ireland has outperformed the UK.
NI Chamber chief executive Suzanne Wylie addressed the Labour Party conference in Liverpool (Brian Lawless/PA)
“As a region, we are the ideal place for testing new ideas. Whether that is in advanced manufacturing or AI, we are big enough to demonstrate impact, but small enough to get things done quickly.
“But there is so much more that government can do, from easing red tape to ensuring our voice is heard in the delivery of the Industrial Strategy.”
Dr Ryan Feeney, vice-president and registrar at Queen’s added: “This event recognises the strength of a ‘triple-helix’ approach between higher education, business, and policy makers when it comes to maximising our economic impact on a UK-wide basis.
“Bringing business and industry together, and combining Queen’s world-class research and innovation, with NI Chamber’s significant policy influence, seeks to strengthen evidence-based insights and partnerships to deliver growth and prosperity for Northern Ireland and beyond.”
Meanwhile ahead of her keynote speech in Liverpool Ms Reeves warned that “the world has changed” since she promised business chiefs she would not repeat the tax raid of her first budget.
“Whether it is wars in Europe and the Middle East, whether it is increased barriers to trade because of tariffs coming from the United States, whether it is the global cost of borrowing, we’re not immune to any of those things.”