CBI: Damage to economy is ‘inevitable’
THE head of business group the CBI has attacked the Government’s announcement on the latest coronavirus lockdown, saying firms “can’t act on the basis of speculation and leaks and surmise”.
Director-general Dame Carolyn Fairbairn had urged Boris Johnson to speak to the organisation’s annual conference but he became just the second Prime Minister to not appear at the event.
He was replaced by Business Secretary Alok Sharma.
Dame Carolyn (below) said the Government had to both set out its exit strategy from the lockdown and improve the coronavirus testing system. She added that it would be “unconscionable” to leave the post-brexit transition period without a trade deal at a time when Europe is battling a second wave of coronavirus, describing a deal as both an economic and moral necessity. Dame Carolyn said this had become a “week of cancellations” for businesses as a result of Saturday’s announcement by Mr Johnson that a month-long lockdown would start across England on Thursday.
And she said that damage to the economy was “inevitable” as thousands of businesses were forced to close down for a second time. She said: “This is the run-up to Christmas, it’s the most important time for so many firms. And we’ve seen lower compliance, divisions breaking out, less trust.
“So we know that economic damage is unavoidable. But we need to minimise it. And that requires to get a lot of things right. What I’m going to say today to Alok Sharma, to Keir Starmer and to the Prime Minister is that we need politicians and the Government to be listening like never before.”
Dame Carolyn called on the Government to keep as much of the economy as open as possible, and provide financial support for companies, particularly in sectors such as aviation.
She also said there should be an exit plan from the national lockdown, improvements to mass testing and better communication with businesses.
Mr Sharma rejected the suggestion that the Government’s response to the lockdown had been chaotic and said the lockdown was necessary to protect both the NHS and the economy.