Get SET for action

The UK economy faces a paradox. On one hand, we have been enjoying significant, real-term increases in funding across the whole of science, engineering and technology (SET). The UK has the opportunity to maintain its position as one of the leading nations in scientific research, an opportunity I hope the government will seize in announcing the outcome of its Comprehensive Spending Review in mid-2007.

Furthermore, London remains one of the pre-eminent financial centres, perhaps the most important outside the US, with the London Stock Exchange — at least while it remains independent — one of the world's leading exchanges, facilitating the raising of capital and the trading of securities for companies from 59 countries. It is globally pre-eminent in trading and is the source of Europe's largest pool of liquidity.

Currently, there are 1,664 main market and 1,500 Aim companies quoted on its markets, collectively worth more than £4.4 trillion, having raised over £20bn in 2005 alone.