Largest businesses have too much say
I don’t know Rod Slater but have some sympathy with the hyperbole put to his letter: ‘Big business is in charge’ (Viewpoints May 15).
As he says, big businesses employs powerful lobbyists to influence government action and national boundaries don’t hold them back, although they may take advantage of them to dodge tax.
His warning of financial services leaving the city of London and thereby depriving our nation of valuable assets and influence may worry many, not least the Chancellor. This might indeed ripple out to our own city centre as institutions rein back regional offices and contract.
All our recent governments therefore have listened carefully and not pushed them too far. In fact some would say corporations have pushed governments into feathering conglomerate nests and see small businesses and the self-employed as marginalised, indeed indirectly subjugated to the advantage of the rich.
The rise of the ‘gig economy jobs,’ outsourcing, employer insecurity and recent McDonald’s strike are examples of this - as are big chains and distribution centres feeding delivery drivers in white vans replacing independent shops and local specialist outlets where the staff really know their trade and stock and can advise on it.
This is why I can’t trust the government’s secretive dealings to set up business deals for instant implementation with Brexit.
If you are involved in or run a small business that is dependent on bigger ones, either as a ‘subbie’ or for their custom, you should ask yourself if you’ve been consulted or briefed about the implications of Liam Fox’s talks with Trump’s America, Canada, China, India, and Australia.
Big transnational businesses are all able to drive down one standard or another that is problematic for corporate greed. Who’s standing up for the rest of us? Amy Little, Cheetham Hill Jon Burslem, from Salford took this image of swans at Salford Quays. If you have a stunning picture, then we’d love to see it. Send your photos to us at viewpoints@men-news. co.uk, marking them Picture of the Day