They’re back | Features

What the industry says
Alan Cherry, chairman,	John Harrower, chairman, Constructors Liason Group	Allan Wilén, economist, Construction Products Association	Graham Watts, chairman,
Countryside Properties	Constructors Liaison Group	Don’t know	Construction Industry Council
Who’s the	Tory's	shadow for	Nick Raynsford?
Don’t know	No. That’s shockingly ignorant	Don’t know	Robert Syms
Who’s the	shadow for	John Prescott?
I’m thinking hard but can’t remember his name … [Rings back after five minutes] … Archie Norman	[Long pause]. I don’t know … It’s the old Asda boss. I’m sure he’s better known for that	Hang on, I know this. Archie Norman. I would have thought anyone in the industry who doesn’t know should get sacked!
What impact	are the Conservatives	having on	the industry?
The shadow environment secretary has a very negative attitude.He criticises Prescott but generally gives the impression that he doesn’t understand that the nation needs more homes. They seem to think the electorate is anti-development. I like secretaries of state to be aware of the reality, and I’m not sure he is.	I don’t think they are having an impact but maybe that’s not so much their fault as ours. Perhaps in the second half of parliament, we will maintain more dialogue. But does construction win votes? For most people, it is a distinctly unsexy subject.	When a party is in opposition their impact is always limited. They are not in a particularly strong position at the moment but I understand that they are soon to produce a manifesto; perhaps that will reveal a package of strong and sustained investment in the built environment.	They are having very little impact. And in a sense that’s quite sad. There are quite a lot of back benchers who are well associated with the industry but not in the shadow cabinet. As for Syms … sometimes politicians are put in roles that don’t suit them. Construction doesn’t turn him on, but his heart’s in the right place.