What Keir Starmer could learn from Boris Johnson about Britain’s ambition

We are told the UK is ‘open for business’ but our ports and stations suggest otherwise. Where, asks Chris Blackhurst, is the political leadership to grow our tourism industry?

Boris Johnson (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A City friend has just returned from a round-the-world cruise. As we went through his photos, he remarked how friendly people had been in the various destinations, how spectacular it had been sailing into Sydney, mooring in Singapore and Cape Town. In some places, they were greeted by welcoming parties, they felt wanted, with the locals delighted to see them.

Contrast that with Britain. Here, there is little chance of docking in London, amid the capital’s historic sights. Instead, it’s a quayside at Southampton. Our attitude was not one of gratitude that tourists were visiting and spending their money but of entitlement. We did not go out of our way as a nation to make them feel special and desired.

There were plans for a passenger ship terminal at Greenwich but these were kiboshed on grounds of pollution. It’s true that the liners like to keep their engines running during their stay and folk did live close to the Thames but that applies elsewhere and, besides, there was little concession made, no attempt at compromise. That part of the riverside remains relatively undeveloped. London’s loss was… well, London’s loss.

Cruises are big business, growing in popularity all the time. The numbers taking part are increasing and the vessels are getting ever bigger and more spectacular. London is losing out. There is some cruise-ship trade at Tilbury, but not much – the city comes down the international pecking order. Floating palaces journey into the middle of New York; likewise, Rome, which is not adjacent to the sea, has the nearby facility at Civitavecchia to bring in the monied holidaymakers.

In Britain, we do not bend over backwards to woo them. Couple that with a lack of vision and imagination on high, that allows obstacles to be insurmountable and shrugs and drops rather than pushes and finds an acceptable solution, and we are struck by stasis and suffer economically.

These are not mindsets confined to cruise holidays. It is evident at Heathrow and Gatwick, our two busiest airports, where travellers must negotiate dreary, cramped staircases and travelators that frequently are not functioning. It is depressing and cold.

Likewise, one of our most popular rail terminals is London Euston; to say it’s an eyesore, unfit for purpose, is an understatement. Euston is a disgrace. Change, we are assured, is coming but do not hold your breath. It has been in such a condition for decades, yet nothing has been done.

There are perfectly cogent reasons as to why Euston, a marine ocean dock at Greenwich and other sites that ought to be improved and advanced, drag along or perish altogether. As a society, we’re expert in presenting arguments as to why something cannot happen as opposed to why it can, or must.

We accept it for what it is; then, when we venture abroad, we return, marvelling at their transport links and up-to-date infrastructure. We notice, too, how we’re not subjected to local sales taxes of the sort we require foreigners to pay in the UK. Again, our insistence on imposing a tourist tax is easily explained – our public purse is drained, it needs boosting, every little helps.

Little wonder the tourists on our streets are saving their splurging for Paris or Madrid. The maths tells us that we are missing out on their custom, that they would generate more income for the UK if they came here and spent here than was ever raised via the levy. Firms and jobs depend upon them, but seemingly, we do not afford them the same hospitality they receive elsewhere – worse, we give the impression of not encouraging them at all.

While retailers are dismayed, our political leaders remain oblivious. The suggested Greenwich investment was steered by Morgan Stanley, the US investment banking colossus and no stranger to dealing with the global super-rich and financial might. We should be winning over Morgan Stanley and, for that matter, its peers, not sending a signal that says not to bother.

Sir Keir Starmer will declare to anyone who listens that Britain is “open for business”. It’s a mantra trotted out over and over again. The hard evidence suggests otherwise. If there is progress, it is slow, crucially far slower than our competitors. Because that is the nub; we cannot simply sit back and rest on our laurels, basking in a glorious past and believing that will sustain us, that somehow, the future will happen.

The last prime minister who appreciated this was Boris Johnson; he was about imagination and ambition. Unfortunately, Johnson lacked the means to put his vision into practice. Some of it did not pass muster but he conveyed excitement and enthusiasm. Starmer has the qualities that Johnson did not possess – he knows about process and structure. Sadly, he does not share Johnson’s boldness and passion. In Johnson and Starmer, we have gone from one extreme to the other.

We desperately require leadership that falls between the two. My pal’s snaps supply the picture.