Theresa May's new Brexit business council to meet
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Thursday 20 Jul 2017
(ShareCast News) - Theresa May will meet with senior figures in some of the UKs largest companies later on Thursday in an effort to assuage some of the growing concerns over the governments Brexit plans and how it will affect trading moving forward.
Representatives will meet with the Prime Minister in Downing Street at 1500 BST to offer their views. According to a representative at Number 10, it will be the first in a series of regular meetings, reconvening "every two or three months" to focus on just how leaving the EU will impact the future of the UK economy.
Chancellor Phillip Hammond, who has been trying to convince the Conservative Party to soften their Brexit plans, will be present at the meeting.
Also in attendance will be business secretary Greg Clark and Brexit minister Robin Walker.
On the industry side, Ralph Speth of Jaguar Land Rover, John Pettigrew of National Grid, Paul Manduca of Prudential, Luke Johnson of Risk Capital, Kathryn Parsons of Decoded, Dave Lewis of Tesco and Roger Carr of BAE Systems will have their say, along with the heads of five business lobby groups.
The PM hasn't built the strongest relationships with corporate Britain over the last 12 months and on has questioned the discrepancies between the salaries of corporate leaders and their staff. On average, the heads of the biggest companies earn almost 400 times the minimum wage.
As part of May's plans moving forward, pay packages of these executives would be subject to annual shareholder review and all listed companies would be required to publish the ratio of their executives to that of its employee's average salary.
For now however, it seems May is ready to shift the conversation with industry leaders after last month's disappointing election outcome and according to a spokesperson "provide a direct link to business on the government's Brexit strategy," and take a look at the "wider issues such as the development of a modern industrial strategy".
UPDATE - Frances Martin, president of the British Chambers of Commerce referring to a recent survey of 2,422 business wherein 45% said they want to remain in the single market and 47% said they wanted to stay in the customs union said "Our research shows clear support among the business community for the UK to reach a comprehensive agreement with the EU, and for a transition period which will prevent firms facing a cliff-edge. The prospect of multiple, costly, adjustments to trading conditions is a concern for many, so starting discussions on transition arrangements as soon as possible would go a long way to boost business confidence."
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