Member Article

NECC chief slams negative economic outlook

The Chief Executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) has expressed his disappointment in the latest economic figures, which he believes are a poor reflection of the positive mood within the North East business community.

According to James Ramsbotham, the word ‘recession’ is an incredibly emotive one, and carries an enormous psychological impact. How now believes that business community should now focus on the positives, and all facets of society must now play their part in bolstering confidence.

He commented: “The UK entering double-dip recession is incredibly disappointing and while we cannot pretend that there are no concerns over the economy we must not let it undermine the growing confidence of North East businesses, demonstrated in our own Quarterly Economic Survey.

“NECC members don’t reflect the gloomy national picture, particularly in the manufacturing and engineering sectors, which have contracted according to the Government estimate, but emphatically not according to our own members.

There has been a wealth of good news recently at Nissan, Newcastle International Airport with the Emirates investment and Bydgoszcz route, while the imminent arrival of Hitachi, Newcastle Offshore Group and the re-birth of steelmaking on Teesside at SSI are also set to have a positive impact.

’We must not let this announcement impact on our optimism for future economic growth.“ He added.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .