CBI chief’s warning over twin threats

TWIN threats are being posed to the UK economy by the prospect of a renationalisation programme or a hard Brexit, the head of the CBI said last night.

The business organisation’s president Paul Drechsler insisted either scenario would damage Britain and its international reputation.

In a speech to business leaders in London, Mr Drechsler said that such “era-defining” decisions must be made on an evidencebased evaluation of their impact on the economy, rather than political ideology.

He said: “The UK must navigate its way between two significant threats. On the one hand, there’s a real risk of a hard Brexit. On the other, there’s a nationalising ideology.

“Now, some are saying ‘Don’t worry, it’s not going to happen. We’ll get a Brexit deal. And noone’s going to be taking private assets into State hands’. That may be. I don’t make predictions. Not when it comes to politics.

“But, the first lesson in business is, confidence is everything.

“And every day, I’m hearing of potential investors in this country reaching for their coats.

“Because they’re not going to risk putting their money into an economy that soon might face export barriers to its single biggest market.”

Meanwhile the leader of the Liberal Democrats yesterday denied suggesting Brexit supporters are racist after attacking white nostalgia in a major speech.

Sir Vince Cable said too many of those who voted for Brexit were “driven by a nostalgia for a world where passports were blue, faces were white, and the map was coloured imperial pink”.