CBI president slams Labour’s nationalisation plans as being driven by “ideology” over facts
Labour’s plans for nationalisation poses a “significant threat” to the economy, as they are driven by ideology rather than facts, the CBI will tonight say.
In a speech to senior business leaders this evening, Paul Drechsler will warn that taking utilities, Royal Mail and PFI contracts back into public ownership would “hurt those who most need our support and help”. He will urge Jeremy Corbyn’s party to change its position, instead considering what is best for jobs, investment and living standards.
“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,” he will say.
“We can take nothing for granted. Drop the ideology and focus on the evidence… So you want to nationalise energy, rail and water, and bring public services contracts back in-house? Let’s see the evidence that it will deliver a better service to consumers at a lower cost.”
Labour has repeatedly said it would nationalise huge swathes of the economy, which the Centre for Policy Studies estimates would add £176bn to UK debt, equivalent to £6,500 per household, although shadow chancellor John McDonnell has insisted it would be “cost free”.
Drechsler, who has long advocated a softer Brexit, will praise the private energy sector for cutting emissions by 40 per cent since the 1990s; private water companies for improving water quality and cutting leaks by a third; and the rail industry where passenger numbers have more than doubled in less than 20 years while ensuring high safety standards.
“In all, 45 per cent of our infrastructure investment is being delivered through private investment. Yet all these industries – energy, water and rail – are in line to be taken into state ownership under Labour,” he will say.
The business association boss will also note how vital trust is for modern firms, saying the “sorry collapse of Carillion was a wake-up call” and urging “openness and honesty about what happened”.
But Drechsler stressed that MPs on all sides had much to learn from the demise of the outsourcer earlier this year, saying “low-cost deals may look cheap in the short-term, but that doesn’t mean they deliver value in the long-term”.
He will add: “Actually, the government gets this. But the opposition? I’m doubtful. Their goal of reducing inequality is surely right. Yet that that’s unlikely to be achieved without involving business.
“Whether we’re dealing with ideology or wishful thinking about the art of the possible, let’s make the facts our guide.”