Speak out, plea to ‘punchbag’ bosses
Post-referendum backlash blamed as heavyweights hold their tongues over General Election prospects
TOP bosses have been urged to speak out during the General Election campaign amid claims that businesses are wary of making political statements after a bruising experience during last year’s EU referendum.
General Elections are usually not complete without a letter to newspapers signed by company chiefs to urge support for their chosen party, but experts say that is less likely to happen this time.
Business chiefs – many of whom have supported the Tories over the years – may be worried about being seen to back a party committed to a hard Brexit which they see as damaging. But at the same time they do not wish to be seen to be opposing the leading contenders in the poll on June 8.
Edwin Morgan, deputy director of policy at business lobby group the Institute of Directors, said: ‘Businesses shouldn’t be afraid to speak out about issues that affect them – whether that’s taxes, skills, infrastructure or any other political decision.
‘But they can’t forget that their staff, customers and suppliers will all have their own views and may not like it if a company gets into bed with one party. Business leaders who put their heads over the parapet during the referendum risked being attacked, so they may be more wary in this campaign.
‘This Election will be missing an important voice if companies stay quiet. The best way to get involved is to focus on the pros and cons of the policies the parties put forward.’
In the General Election of 2015 more than 100 business leaders signed a letter to newspapers backing the Tories.
Experts said endorsements from wealthy company bosses are not likely to be effective at influencing the voting intentions of households which describe themselves as ‘just about managing’. May has been attempting to persuade this group that she is on their side. Iain Anderson, a public affairs expert who runs consultancy Cicero, said: ‘The whole tenor of this Government is not to have boardrooms telling voters how to vote. It wants to be a Government for everyone, not just for those at the top. I just don’t think it would work as a campaign strategy.’
Anderson said he expected May to copy the Leave campaign’s tactics of enrolling major entrepreneurs and small businesses rather than seeking endorsements from bosses of FTSE 100 companies.
He added that if there was no business letter it would be ‘the first time in living memory’.
The Tories would not comment on potential business endorsements this weekend, while Labour said it had ongoing engagement with businesses across the UK. Former Business Secretary Sir Vince Cable, who is trying to win back his Twickenham seat for the Liberal Democrats, said the Tories still might hope to see a letter from bosses. ‘They may find it a bit harder this time,’ he said. ‘Some of the business groups are very anti-Brexit,’ he said. ‘They are quite torn internally.
‘The atmosphere is becoming very polarised. There’s some worry that it wouldn’t do them good to be on the wrong side of the argument.’
Cable said he was still hopeful of getting business endorsements for the Liberal Democrats.
Several prominent bosses who signed the 2015 letter told The Mail on Sunday that they would not be taking a public position this time. One chairman said: ‘Business has been used as a bit of a political punchbag recently and there hasn’t been any real effort – from either party – to involve the business community in the debate.
‘Presumably there will be some attempt to engage at some point and it will be interesting to see how that goes, if and when it happens.’
Banks that warned of the consequences of the EU referendum vote have faced particular criticism since last June amid suggestions that they will not have to move staff to t he EU as t hey previously claimed would be the case.
Another signatory of the 2015 letter said the upcoming Election was ‘already a done deal’, making it less likely that business leaders would step in or be called upon to do so.
But he added: ‘ The wisdom of Brexit would all go to one side if it’s a choice between Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn. Everything he wants to do is laudable – more schools, more hospitals – but he seems to forget it’s business that builds the jobs and makes everything possible.
‘It’s what powers the country, but there is a feeling that Corbyn is anti-business. We’re presented as the bad boys.’