"Archie Norman, the Marks & Spencer chair who told the Telegraph the government's workers' rights proposals were a political indulgence that the country cannot afford, is a former Tory MP. Stuart Rose, who told the Times that he believed we're genuinely at the edge of a crisis, is a Tory peer. Rain Newton-Smith, the boss of the CBI, is the country's top business lobbyist."
"The problem, though, is that these grumbles plainly go deeper well beyond the employment rights package. Talk privately to FTSE 100 and 250 executives and you'll hear consistent themes: that ministers, despite their pre-election schmoozing to woo the business vote, don't get business; that the government has stopped listening; and that key decisions are fluffed, or take too long. Exhibit A on the last front was the collapse in January of AstraZeneca's intended 450m investment in a vaccine factory in Speke near Liverpool."
"Several factors have influenced this decision, including the timing and reduction of the final offer compared to the previous government's proposal, said the company at the time. The Treasury may dispute the account, but the business world (not just a pharmaceutical industry in the middle of a separate quarrel over the prices the NHS pays for prescription medicines) was amazed that a flagship deal could fall apart at the stage of haggling over details."
Business complaints extend beyond employment-rights proposals to concerns about delayed decisions, poor engagement, and policy uncertainty. Senior retail and industry figures urged tax relief and warned of crisis-level investment risks. Executives report ministers do not understand business, have stopped listening, and frequently fluff or delay major choices. AstraZeneca cancelled a planned £450m vaccine-factory investment, citing timing and reductions to the final offer compared with the previous government's proposal. Business leaders were astonished that a flagship deal collapsed during haggling over details, weakening confidence in the UK's life-sciences ambitions.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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