CBI chief Tony Dunker has attacked the prime minister’s plan to abolish EU law as he calls for policies to boost economic growth.
Rishi Sunak was criticized Monday by senior business leaders for adding legislative “chaos” to the ailing UK economy amid growing signs that British businesses are unhappy with government policies.
Tony Dunker, head of the CBI Employers’ Group, has argued that the Prime Minister’s plan to repeal hundreds of EU-originating laws by the end of the year is creating “great uncertainty for UK businesses”. I am going to give a speech.
Financial In an interview with The Times, Dunker added his voice to the growing call for effective government policies to support economic growth in the UK.
Mr. Dunker’s speech reflected growing fears among UK businesses about the economic downturn expected this year and the damage caused by Brexit.
Amid widespread criticism of the government’s policy, Dunker said Sunak’s decision to repeal EU law “risks throwing the industry into turmoil, much like we are trying to pull ourselves out of a recession at the end of the year.” Warning.
The government-maintained draft EU law states that up to 4,000 EU-originating laws in areas such as consumer protection and rights at work will be effective by 31 December unless ministers explicitly decide to keep them.
While Sunak claims this will create more agile rules for new industries, Danker said in his speech:
“Businesses ask, ‘Are we going to undermine motherhood and paternity laws and health and safety standards?'”
Dunker makes it clear that the business does not share Sunak’s desire for bureaucratic bonfires and British rules to deviate from his EU ones.
“Divergence is a big political and economic bet,” he says. “We need to recognize that deviations often reduce the market size and add bureaucracy.”
At the Davos meeting last week, Commerce Secretary Grant Shaps acknowledged that Brexit had created “significant challenges” for British businesses and outlined a growth plan he dubbed “British-led Silicon Valley.”
But some British businessmen returned home in a depressed mood at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, reporting that the general reaction of the world’s elite to Britain was either indifference or sympathy.
“The economy is continental,” said one business leader. “It was the first real Davos since Brexit. There was a real sense of the dawn of a new reality. We are not invited to the top table.”
A leading financier added:
“Despite the general optimism that the world was opening up, Britain was still clouded. Some of us have felt it. I went to dinner and we were all depressed and drank too much. “
Meanwhile, Jesper Brodin, CEO of Ikea’s largest retailer Inca, said at the Davos conference that Brexit had made cross-border transactions “much more troublesome”.
Prime Minister Jeremy Hunt will address areas he believes will boost growth in the UK economy in his Friday speech and will identify weaknesses he wants to address in the March budget.
Mr. Hunt has asked the government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, to come up with a proposal for growth in key sectors, which Mr. Dunker would welcome.
Hunt also wants to address the issue of labor sluggishness, but Dunker said the UK labor market is ‘failing’ as several sectors suffer from labor shortages. warns and adds:
“When governments refuse to use economic migrants to fill pressing vacancies, businesses will not agree to this, but government intervention in the labor market must be the most daring in the world.”
He also warns that the US, EU, and Asian countries are pursuing large-scale investment plans in green technology.
“International competitors in Europe, Asia, and the US are hindering green growth and encouraging companies to invest,” he told UK ministers. . . We’re behind them now, and they seem to be hoping for the best.
Dunker confirmed to the FT that the snacks ended the political crisis surrounding Boris Johnson’s resignation and the short-lived Liz Truss prime minister.
He suggested the commotion paid a heavy price, stating:
“The autumn’s political turmoil has undoubtedly brought some big investments to the UK. I believe that will change, but not overnight.”
The UK will slip from fifth to 30th in the OECD’s financial competitiveness rankings in April, expiring existing incentives, according to the CBI. British business investment now ranks alongside Turkey and Greece, she added.
Dunker said in his speech:
“Negating our economic position compared to our international competitors is the surest way to undermine the UK’s growth prospects over the next decade.”
Tesco Chairman John Allan said last week that the government needed a “serious and thoughtful long-term growth plan.”
Sir James Dyson said in a Daily Telegraph article that growth had “become a foul word” under Snak as he called for plans to “stimulate private innovation and demonstrate ambition for growth”. . He criticized the “stupid” and “short-sighted” approach to corporate taxes.
The CBI hopes the government will replace the special withholding tax exemption, which was meant to encourage business capital investment but expires in April, with a new incentive for business investment.
UK corporate tax was raised from 19% to 25% in April, and Mr. Dunker said that by simply raising the corporate tax, Sunak was “pursuing an anti-growth policy, not a pro-growth policy. ‘ said. It is not a pro-investment policy, but an anti-investment policy. “
A government spokesman said:
“Growth is the cornerstone of a stable and prosperous economy, as the Commerce Secretary said at Davos, and the Prime Minister has set a clear agenda on how to foster growth in the UK.”