CBI boss to tell Theresa May: We must have a Brexit plan

THE president of the Confederation of British Industry is to tell the Prime Minister that businesses desperately need to see ‘a plan’ for Brexit.

CBI boss Paul Drechsler will tell Theresa May when she attends the business body’s annual conference tomorrow that companies are ‘not asking for a running commentary. We are looking for clarity and – above all – a plan’.

Companies want to know that Britain will not ‘close our borders to Europe’s talent’, he will say. Many businesses fear that they will end up in a ‘regulatory no-man’s land’ post-Brexit, while ports, airports and logistics firms are concerned about red tape associated with new trading rules with European partners.

‘They would need more warehouses to store more goods on-site, and more supply roads for the vehicles waiting to deliver them. At short notice this would be impossible,’ Drechsler will say.

The Prime Minister is set to speak after Drechsler at the conference in London tomorrow.

May is expected to outline sector-by-sector priorities for the European Union exit negotiations in her address to the employers’ body.

Drechsler will also echo May’s calls for greater employee engagement in big firms.

‘Firms should explain – in public – what steps they’ve taken on employee engagement and representation,’ he will say.

He will also reiterate the CBI’s calls for a binding vote on executive pay for firms which repeatedly fail to deal with shareholders’ concerns.

He will say: ‘We need to send out a strong message that rewarding failure is not an option. Exceptional pay can only be justified by exceptional performance.’