Mark Casci: '˜Volatility is to be embraced, it was has made us great throughout history'

One place however you will almost certainly not find much in the way of salvation will be in the address Philip Hammond delivers at the dispatch box come tomorrow lunchtime.

Mr Hammond is a prisoner of circumstances.

The days of “giveaway budgets” in which the top line on the news was that duty was to be reduced on popular consumer items are gone, hopefully for good.

Such measures found favour in the late 1990s and most of the 2000s, up until the financial crash. It was a time of sustained and strong economic growth for the nation. It inevitably led to complacency, not least of which from Number 11 and those who sought its favour as Budget day approached.

The contrast between then and now could not be more stark but we should necessarily view that through a negative prism.

As Ian Stewart, Deloitte’s chief economist told me during his visit to Leeds last week, businesses in Yorkshire and the UK more widely are growing increasingly accustomed to absorbing seismic economic shocks.

“While the media is constantly talking about global uncertainty, business people are remaining pretty upbeat and getting on with it,” he said.

“The UK is likely to continue to grow this year albeit at a slower rate than last, here in Leeds and elsewhere.

“I don’t get the sense that the corporate sector is battening down the hatches.

“Business is much more accustomed to volatility and unpredictably.”

These are heartening words and show that the period of growth up until the financial crisis has not dampened our ability to deal with adversity.

It has always been one of the great strengths of British commerce to stand tall and persevere in times of instability and stress.

If you look back throughout most of the post-war period there has been much in the way of national and international turmoil in the world of politics and economics.

Really when we talk about the “new normal” of “constant change”, we are really just talking about business as usual for a country that has thrived on adversity.

As such tomorrow’s Budget, while significant, is not going to deliver us from the perils of life, nor should it. Mr Hammond has made no secret of his lack of appetite for flashy announcements. He has seemed extremely at ease with his “spreadsheet Phil” moniker.

I will be the first to admit we need substantive changes and support structures for our economy. Two pence off of the price of a pint is not going to cut it anymore.

We need measures which will deliver for us today, for the year ahead and the decade ahead.

And I am confident it will come from our own boardrooms and factors, only for the reason that, throughout history, it always has.

This week is National Apprenticeship Week, throwing a much-deserved spotlight on the sector.

My feelings on the value of apprenticeships are well-documented in these pages and I firmly believe that, if they are given due support and respect, we can have generations of better equipped and skilled workers.

That is why I must applaud Gordons for their legal apprenticeship scheme which has welcomed Bryony Russell as its first graduate.

You can read her story on page five and I wish to doff my cap, not only to this very bright young woman and the firm which has trained her up, but also managing partner Paul Ayre, whom I know has invested more than just funding for this scheme.

The whole scheme has delivered wins at every stage, with Gordons set to offer its clients a much more diverse workforce, and proof that there is more to life than university.