Labour accused of ‘shocking’ lack of understanding of business, by CBI boss

The head of the CBI has accused Labour of a ‘shocking’ lack of understanding of business.

Rupert Soames said members of the government found it hard to put themselves ‘into the shoes’ of running companies.

And he said he had never been taken in by Labour’s so-called prawn cocktail offensive when the party wooed bosses ahead of the election.

The comments come days after official figures showed the economy shrank in October in the latest blow to the government’s faltering growth hopes.

Keir Starmer has claimed that growth is Labour’s number one mission but business leaders have become increasingly alarmed as the party piles on tax hikes and prepares to impose new workers’ rights on employers.

Soames, who is outgoing chairman of the Confederation of British Industry, told the BBC: ‘When I go and meet MPs and ministers I find it really, really shocking how little understanding they have of the world of business.’

He suggested that Labour politicians often descended into a cynical ‘they would say that wouldn’t they’ view of business leaders’ opinions who they believe are ‘incapable of being anything other than rampant capitalists’.

Soames added: ‘I do sense that this government is one that finds it hard to put itself into the shoes of large and medium size and small businesses.’

He said ministers failed to understand the difficulties involved in employing people.

‘It does disappoint me that on one hand the government has very few people who have worked in business in a way that has involved them employing people and understanding that and on the other hand they translate that into saying, we won’t listen to the people who have.’

Soames said that he ‘never believed’ in Labour’s pre-election charm offensive unlike other ‘business people who were seduced by the prawn cocktail circuit’.

He added: ‘I sat in countless meetings where shadow ministers were sitting there with their notebooks and dutifully taking down on the pearls of wisdom that were coming from business people. 

‘I don’t think they were really listening at all. A lot of that was in my view quite performative.’