News / EXCLUSIVE: 'Politicians don't appreciate the value of logistics to the UK'

Britain’s logistics sector offers “great economic opportunities”, but for these to be realised government needs to “fundamentally reshape its understanding of the industry and the way it engages with it”, according to Logistics UK’s new CEO.

Ben Fletcher (pictured) told The Loadstar there was a need to stop viewing logistics as a “disparate collection of niche areas in need of regulation” and more as a driver of economic growth.

“I think part of the challenge over the next two or three years, before the next election, is that we need government and the opposition parties to really understand the scale of the industry,” said Mr Fletcher, who recently reached 100 days in post.

“It employs people in pretty much every constituency of the UK. In global shipping, road haulage, it offers careers for young people that are incredibly valuable, giving them huge amounts of professional training and the ability to earn well above-average salaries.”

By recognising the connective tissue that runs across the country’s supply chain and, in turn, the influence this has on economic prosperity, he said the government would be better placed to properly regulate the sector.

But Mr Fletcher also said that, while it would be “very easy to blame government” for difficulties faced by UK logistics operators, this was neither conducive to resolving issues nor reflective of the realities on the ground.

“I think a lot of this comes down to the way in which policy is made. Many aspects of the industry are very regulated from a safety perspective, so policy-making often goes down a series of individual lines that helps accentuate that.

“We are certainly not arguing to step away from the real focus on safety, but it means that often government looks at things from a series of very small perspectives, rather than at the global supply chain as a way to accelerate growth.”

Pointing out that 2.5m people work in manufacturing, and government has made a real push on policy tethered to industrial strategy, Mr Fletcher noted there were 2.8m people working in logistics, and a policy on supply chain strategy offered growth potential too.

“I think we need to try and make sure, given its scale, importance to the wider economy, and the number of people who work in it, we can attract that same focus on logistics, because that will help on policy issues across all the different silos,” he added.