Miliband pact with SNP will a 'disaster', says business leader
ED MILIBAND would lead Britain to “disaster” if Labour gained power with the help of the Scottish National Party, a leading entrepreneur has warned.
The prospect of a LabourSNP coalition after the general election in two months’ time is “terrifying”, according to Lord Bilimoria, the chairman and founder of Cobra Beer.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the independent cross-bench peer said he was “very worried” that Labour would wreck the economic recovery by putting up taxes, as he criticised Mr Miliband’s personal lack of experience and understanding of business.
He said a power-sharing deal between high-taxing Labour and the highspending Scottish nationalists would be even worse, representing “a recipe for disaster” for the economy. Lord Bilimoria issued his warning as David Cameron challenged Mr Miliband to rule out a deal with the SNP after the May 7 election.
Lord Baker of Dorking, the former Tory chairman, last week suggested that a “grand coalition” of Labour and the Conservatives could be required to keep the Scottish Nationalists out of office. The electoral calculus surrounding May’s election is increasingly complicated, with a succession of opinion polls pointing to another hung parliament with an even closer result than in 2010.
Mr Miliband’s hopes have been further damaged by the growing popularity of the SNP, which has strengthened its grip north of the border in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum.
One poll suggested the SNP was on course to win 56 out of 59 seats in Scotland, making it virtually impossible for Mr Miliband — who has 41 Scottish MPs — to win a Commons majority.
The SNP has said it would be willing to work with Labour at Westminster and is openly contemplating the terms of a potential coalition agreement. Mr Miliband has repeatedly refused to rule out a deal with Alex Salmond, the former Scottish first minister, who is standing to be an MP.
However, the prospect of a Labour-SNP government has caused alarm among Unionists and business leaders, who fear their combined policies could cause new uncertainty over Scotland’s place in the UK, as well as wreck the economic recovery.
Lord Bilimoria issued the gravest warning so far from a
senior business figure of the dire impact that a Labour-SNP deal would have on Britain.
“I am very worried about Ed Miliband and Labour being in government this time,” he said. “I find the prospect of a Labour-SNP coalition quite frankly terrifying.
“I am seriously concerned about Ed Miliband’s lack of experience and understanding and his priorities. I am not alone. Every single entrepreneur I have spoken to believes exactly what I am saying.”
The peer’s criticism of Mr Miliband’s business policies deals a fresh blow to Labour’s economic credibility, coming from a respected and politically neutral member of the House of Lords. The 53-yearold businessman, who was born in India and educated at Cambridge, has praised Tony Blair’s period in office and was a member of a New Labour employment task force.
Lord Bilimoria said Labour’s proposed mansion tax and plan to put up income tax for top earners to 50p would severely undermine Britain’s image as a pro-business coun- try. Like Labour, the SNP is also a high-spending party, he said. “If you combine that with Labour also wanting to spend more and put up taxes, and therefore jeopardise wealth creation and job creation, then it is a recipe for disaster.”
His warning coincided with a major speech in Scotland by Mr Miliband, in which he all but ignored the SNP question, despite being urged by party figures to rule out a deal. Mr Miliband made four passing references to the Nationalists in his 30-minute address to the Scottish Labour conference.
In a speech in London, David Cameron challenged Mr Miliband to rule out any post-election pact with the SNP, saying a party which wants to “break up Britain” has no place in the country’s government.