Kemi Badenoch warns of exodus of top CEOs if Labour wins power
The Conservative minister for equalities, Kemi Badenoch, has claimed that top business leaders will flee the UK if Labour leader Keir Starmer wins the next general election. She made the remarks at a fringe event at the Conservative party conference in Manchester on Monday.
Badenoch said that she had spoken to several CEOs who were worried about Labour’s policies, especially on taxation, regulation and immigration. She said that they feared that Labour would reverse the economic recovery that the Tories had achieved after the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.
She said: “They are very concerned about what Labour would do to this country. They are very concerned about the direction that Keir Starmer is taking Labour in. They are very concerned about the fact that he doesn’t seem to have any vision for the country, any plan for the country, any policies for the country.”
She added: “They are very clear that if Labour were to get into power, they would leave. They would take their businesses elsewhere. They would take their jobs elsewhere. They would take their investment elsewhere. And that would be a disaster for this country.”
Labour rejects Badenoch’s claims as ‘nonsense’
A Labour spokesperson dismissed Badenoch’s claims as ‘nonsense’ and accused the Tories of being out of touch with the realities of the British economy. The spokesperson said that Labour was the party of business and workers, and that it had a clear vision for a fairer and more prosperous society.
The spokesperson said: “This is nonsense from a minister who is part of a government that has presided over the worst economic crisis of any major economy, the highest death toll in Europe, and a botched Brexit that has cost jobs and trade. Labour is the party of business and workers, and we have a clear vision for a fairer and more prosperous society. We will invest in our public services, our infrastructure, our green industries, and our skills. We will reform our tax system to make it more progressive and ensure that everyone pays their fair share. And we will restore trust in government by tackling corruption, cronyism and sleaze.”
The spokesperson also pointed out that Labour had received support from various business groups and leaders, such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), and the former CEO of Sainsbury’s, Justin King. They said that Labour had a constructive dialogue with the business community and that it welcomed their input and feedback.
Keir Starmer pledges to restore trust and security if he wins power
In his new year speech, Keir Starmer announced a ‘contract with the British people’, in which he promised to offer ‘security, prosperity and respect’. He said that he would restore trust in government, which had been eroded by the Tories’ mishandling of the pandemic, the Brexit negotiations, and the standards scandal.
He said: “The British people deserve better than this. They deserve a government that is on their side, that works for them, that delivers for them. That is what Labour will do. We will put the British people first. We will put the national interest first. We will put the common good first.”
He also outlined his five missions for the country, which are: to secure the recovery from Covid-19, to create a new partnership with the NHS and social care, to unleash Britain’s potential through a green industrial revolution, to strengthen the union and devolve power to the regions and nations, and to lead the world with a new foreign policy based on human rights and democracy.
He said that these missions would guide Labour’s policies and actions, and that they would show the difference between Labour and the Tories. He said that Labour was ready to govern and that it had the ambition, the vision and the values to transform the country for the better.
