May warns the global elite: Play fair and pay your taxes
THERESA May yesterday warned the global elite that they risk a huge backlash unless they play fair by the public and pay their taxes.
In a speech to some of the world’s wealthiest World Economic Forum in Davos, the British prime minister challenged them to change their ways or lose the public’s ‘consent’.
She said voters were fearful, disillusioned and could turn to antiliberal forces on the extreme Right and Left if there was not meaningful reform.
Yesterday, she told a room of bankers and businessmen in the Swiss district: ‘Talk of greater globalisation can make people fearful.
‘For many it means their jobs outsourced and their wages undercut.
‘It means having to sit back as they watch their communities change around them. And in their minds, it means watching as those who prosper seem to play by a different set of rules, while for many life remains a struggle as they get by, but don’t necessarily get on.’
She added: ‘So it is essential for business to demonstrate leadership. To show that, in this globalised world, everyone is playing by the same rules, and that the benefits of economic success are there for all our citizens. This work is absolutely crucial if we are to maintain public consent for a globalised economy and the businesses that operate within it.’
As part of her modern industrial strategy for Britain, Mrs May is expected to ensure the lowskilled and less well-off are not left behind and to ensure that ‘free trade and globalisation work for everyone’.
She said yesterday: ‘Our strategy is not about propping up failing industries or picking winners, but creating the conditions where winners can emerge and grow. It is about backing those winners all the way to encourage them to invest in the long-term future of Britain, and about delivering jobs and economic growth to every community and corner of the country.
‘We can’t leave all this to international market forces alone, or just rely on an increase in overall prosperity… we have to step up and take control to ensure free trade and globalisation work for everyone.
‘We must never forget that our first responsibility as governments it to serve the people.
‘And it is my firm belief that we, as governments, international institutions, businesses and individuals, need to do more to respond to the concerns of those who feel that the modern world has left them behind.’
Mrs May also reassured big business that Britain remains ‘open for business’ after Brexit.
She said the public had taken a bold decision to ‘leave the EU and embrace the world’ by becoming a global, trading economy.
The UK prime minister added: ‘We are going to be a confident country that is in control of its own destiny once again.’
So far, the British economy has held up relatively well since the Brexit vote, growing faster than many of its peers largely thanks to a sharp fall in the value of the pound, which helps exporters.
However, the currency’s decline is already causing a spike in inflation, which will increasingly hurt British consumers and businesses. And the uncertainty over what Brexit will eventually mean is keeping some companies from investing.
There are particular worries in the financial sector that Britain’s exit from the European Union and the Single Market will prompt banks to relocate jobs to cities such as Paris, Frankfurt or Dublin. Some, like HSBC, have confirmed existing plans to move jobs out of London.
Jacques Attali, a former adviser to French President Francois Mitterrand, said Brexit will benefit France and Europe, noting they can ‘try to attract some people from the City (of London).’
Earlier this week, Mrs May outlined her 12-point plan she intends to implement to get the best deal from Britain exiting the EU.
The speech got a mixed reaction, with Irish EU Commission adviser Catherine Day saying there was an element of Britain looking to ‘have its cake and eat it’ post-Brexit.
‘In control of its own destiny once again’