The UK logistics sector demands more investment and less trade friction from the new Labour Government.

UK logistics sector calls for more investment, and less trade friction, from the new Government 

So, the UK general election is over, and the Labour Party backed up its longstanding position in the polls with 411 seats won in the House of Commons, enabling it to achieve a landslide victory over the governing Conservative Party. 

As a consequence, Sir Keir Starmer has now replaced Rishi Sunak as UK Prime Minister. But what are the priorities of the UK’s logistics industry in relation to the new administration? 

Several key figures from the sector have already expressed their thoughts. 

The new administration “needs to look to secure a better deal for UK businesses” 

Speaking before polling day, Nichola Mallon – Logistics UK’s head of trade and devolved policy – said to The Loadstar Podcast that “from day one, the next government needs to accelerate its efforts to address some of the friction within the UK-EU trade and cooperation agreement”. 

She added that the new Government “needs to look to secure a better deal for UK businesses, and that would involve tackling divergence. It would also look at greater harmonisation on sanitary and phytosanitary checks – that would be critical.” 

Hopes that the Labour Government could be prepared to spend on infrastructure 

Another contributor to the podcast, British Ports Association (BPA) CEO Richard Ballantyne, agreed on the importance of the new Government looking at the UK’s relationships with the EU. 

Observing that “Brexit is certainly not done yet”, he added that “we want to learn the lessons from that and look at how we can encourage the new single trade window to work for ports, traders and importers and exporters.” 

He drew attention to the Labour Party having already highlighted the possibility of seeking a closer UK-EU relationship in areas such as Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPH) controls. 

Mr Ballantyne said that the BPA – which is the national association for ports and harbours – would be “interested” in discussing this aspect with the Government. He did, however, acknowledge that there could be consequences for ports that had already invested in infrastructure. 

He further told the podcast that the BPA wished to highlight to the new Government the priorities of net-zero sustainability, connectivity, and the offshore energy transition. 

Noting that Labour has vowed to commit £1.8 billion to the upgrading of ports, Mr Ballantyne declared: “We want a government that is prepared to invest… we like governments that spend on big infrastructure projects… because that drives a lot of port activity, and it drives a lot of investment in the country.” 

KTL can be by your side to help with your logistics needs, whatever happens 

While the emergence of a new UK Government does tend to bring a sense of renewal, it remains to be seen how – and to what extent – public pledges will be turned into action. 

Our team at KTL will keep a close eye on such developments, and we look forward to sharing our perspective and insights on them with our readers over the months and years ahead. 

To learn more about how our knowhow, experience, and connections in port and harbour freight logistics can aid your efforts to move goods from one part of the world to another, please don’t hesitate to contact KTL today. 

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