‘We cannot afford to get stuck in limbo’: Business leaders call for Tory leadership hopefuls to prioritise economic growth
Economic growth cannot be put on hold for two months while the leadership contest plays out – that’s the warning from the director-general of the CBI.
In an open letter to the Conservative Party leadership candidates, Tony Danker said: “As the leadership contest plays out, growth can’t be put on hold for two months.
“We cannot afford to get stuck in limbo with few decisions being taken and little action seen.
“Business confidence is falling, exacerbated by a sense of drift and the politicisation of economic policy.
“The summer therefore needs realistic government actions that bolster confidence.
“The wheels of government must keep turning.”
Mr Danker, whose organisation represents 190,000 businesses, said that a “full government team” needed to be back in place to process essential legislation before recess.
Priorities include announcing a successor to the recovery loan scheme (which supported access to finance for businesses following the COVID-19 pandemic); cutting approval times for new offshore wind farms from four years to one; and creating a new shortage occupations list, he said.
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The letter also called for the next Tory prime minister to focus on developing “serious, credible and bold” plans for economic growth that “dominate policymaking across every government department”.
‘The policies of virtually every department impact growth’
“This is not exclusively a matter for the next chancellor – the policies of virtually every department impact growth and only a broad plan, managed by a strong prime minister, can be effective,” Mr Danker said.
“Higher productivity is the only sustainable way to achieve higher standards of living and tackle the fiscal challenges of an aging population and decarbonisation while lowering the UK’s high tax burden.
“Sustainable economic growth must be at the heart of your manifestos.
“Without it, leadership ambitions cannot be met nor those of the British people and businesses.”
Business rates ‘the most punitive business tax in the UK today’
The letter called for leadership candidates to develop tax policies encouraging growth based on business investment, as growth based on government or household consumption is “doomed to fail”.
Mr Danker also called for reform of business rates, which he described as “the most punitive business tax in the UK today”.
He added: “They act as a tax on investment, lead to higher prices on the high street and leave communities across the country with high streets in decline.
“We propose starting with a freeze to the uniform business rate and allowing firms to instantly benefit from falls in property values, by removing downward transition.”