Business leader worried over Labour, Tory policies

LONDON: The Labour Party’s General Election policies could “crack the foundations of our economy”, while Tory immigration plans risk creating a skills shortage, a business leader has warned.

Confederation of British Industry director-general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn said December’s election is an “extraordinary” one for business, hailing 2020 as the most important year in a generation due to recent uncertainty over Brexit.

She said Jeremy Corbyn’s nationalisation plans will “freeze investment”, and called on him to work with business.

Dame Carolyn, speaking ahead of the CBI annual conference, was asked if Corbyn was a “friend to business”, and told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday: “We look at the policies on the table and we have real concerns that they are going to crack the foundations of our economy.”

Labour has already announced plans including free full-fibre broadband for all, a boost to NHS spending and a minimum wage hike to £10 an hour. With parts of BT to be taken into public ownership under the broadband plan, further nationalisation proposals are expected. Referring to “bolt from the blue” nationalisation plans, specifically with BT, she said: “That will freeze investment. I have talked to businesses who are already sitting there thinking ‘maybe we’re next’.

“So we do say again to Labour — work with business, work out different answers to these problems. But this programme that is appearing to value none of the contribution that business makes will simply shut investment out of our country.”

Commenting on the Conservative Party’s immigration measures, she said: “When we hear talk about brightest and best, I think that is a worry. If you do want to build 200,000 houses a year, you don’t just need the architects and the designers, you need the carpenters, you need the electricians, you need the labourers.

“We need people to come and help us renew our economy.”She added: “It’s not just brightest and best, it’s people at all skill levels across our economy that we need.”

Commenting on the Prime Minister ruling out an extension to the transition period, Dame Carolyn said: “One of the things I think is really important to understand is that if you are in business, living through the last three years, these rolling cliff-edges of climbing up a mountain with stockpiling and then climbing down again, could not be more damaging.”

She added: “Let’s make sure that we don’t end up with yet another cliff-edge, possibly in June, or possibly at the end of December. Because every time we do that we take investment away from our country.”