The corporate approach to general elections is not what it was.
Not long ago, it was common for large companies to donate to political parties, including big FTSE 100 names such as SmithKline Beecham, United Biscuits, General Accident and Whitbread.
The majority of these donations would go to the Conservatives, but there were some companies, such as Marks & Spencer and Pearson, that also donated to other parties.
Some, like Hanson – whose founder, Lord Hanson, was a staunch supporter of Margaret Thatcher – continued to do so even after the 1992 Cadbury Report recommended that companies stop making contributions to political parties.
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Even after political contributions dried up, FTSE 100 chief executives did not hesitate to endorse or criticize politicians at election times.
In 1997, several well-known businesspeople, including Robert Ayling of British Airways, Bob Bauman of the former British Aerospace (now BAE Systems) and George Simpson of GEC endorsed Tony Blair’s Labor Party ahead of that year’s election, while John Major’s Conservatives also had many supporters.
Businesspeople were also happy to talk about specific policies. Before the 1997 election, BT chairman Sir Iain Vallance attacked Labor’s proposals for an extraordinary tax on privatized public services, while Brian Stewart, chief executive of pubs and brewing giant Scottish & Newcastle, criticized Labor’s plans to create a Scottish Parliament with tax-raising powers.
None of that happens anymore. Most CEOs, although they have their own political opinions like the rest of us, prefer to keep them to themselves. The more astute, realizing that it makes sense to talk to politicians, are careful to ensure that they are seen as behaving impartially and not expressing a preference for one side or the other.
Business wish lists
This doesn’t mean that companies don’t have their own lists of policies.
This is particularly true for small businesses. Their wish list has not changed in the last two decades and is headed by wanting a change in the law to impose immediate payments from big businesses to their suppliers and the reform of business rates, which is also an issue for big businesses in sectors such as retail and hospitality.
Further up the corporate food chain, what big companies want most is clarity and consistency in policy.
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As Dame Amanda Blanc, chief executive of insurance, savings and pensions giant Aviva, told Sky News today: “Obviously we are apolitical. What we want is the environment to be a place where we can invest, absolutely. You know, we want consistency and stability and for whoever wins the election, we want the election to be decisive, and we really want there to be certainty so that we can invest in things like the UK’s infrastructure.”
Dame Amanda, who served on the Prime Minister’s Business Council and the Business Working Group set up by Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves, added: “We have invested £9.5 billion in UK infrastructure over the last three years.
Dame Amanda Blanc has been chief executive of Aviva since July 2020.
“Our commitment is £25 billion over the next 10 years. To do that, we need to have a safer environment. And that’s what we hope for.”
This desire for stability and consistency was why Liz Truss’s brief tenure at 10 Downing Street was so damaging and why, unofficially, many business executives will admit to being grateful to Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt for restoring order to the public finances. . following the storm created by Kwasi Kwarteng’s September 2022 mini-budget.
They feel this is the first time since David Cameron took office that a Prime Minister has supported the corporate world. Theresa May alienated many global CEOs with her infamous 2016 speech in which she said “if you believe you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere”. She was replaced by Boris Johnson who, as Foreign Secretary in 2018, infamously said “fuck business”. And then came Mrs. Truss.
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If business leaders are grateful to Messrs Sunak and Hunt, there is also sympathy for Sir Keir Starmer and Ms Reeves for their constructive approach.
Yes, there is some unease about Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner’s proposals to ban zero-hours contracts, end redundancy and rehiring and to give workers full rights and protections from day one of their employment.
But there is a sense that, after the leadership of Gordon Brown, Ed Miliband and Jeremy Corbyn, who went into the 2019 election campaign threatening to nationalize much of the energy industry, the water industry and BT’s broadband network, this is the most pro-business initiative. Labor leadership since the days of the late Tony Blair.
While large companies are primarily looking for policy stability and consistency, that doesn’t mean they don’t have wish lists of their own.
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Big leisure, hospitality and luxury goods companies would welcome the restoration of VAT-free shopping for international visitors, the loss of which they argue has driven business away from the UK to destinations such as Paris and Milan.
Most companies with property interests – which is almost all – would like to see a more coherent planning regime. Housebuilders would welcome a relaxation of rules requiring a proportion of housing developments to be dedicated to affordable homes.
Scourge of shoplifting
Retailers would like to see police forced to give greater priority to combating the scourge of shoplifting.
Manufacturers in particular would like to see an easing of some trade frictions that have built up since Brexit.
And car manufacturers – currently under threat of being fined if a certain proportion of their sales are not electric vehicles – would like to see a restoration of government incentives for EV purchases and the deployment of EV charging points.
Companies, it is often pointed out, do not have the right to vote.
But they create the jobs and wealth this country depends on. Those who start campaigning in the next six weeks won’t need to be reminded of this.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
