Miliband & UK business

THERE were mainly muted reactions to Ed Miliband's speech at the Labour Party Conference yesterday and five out of ten was about the best mark he could expect from commentators. But his comments about “an economy and a society too often rewarding not the right people and values, but the wrong people with the wrong values” produced almost instant and contrasted responses from two leading business organisations, the CBI (The Voice of British Industry) and the Institute of Directors.

The Director General of the CBI first: “With growth weak Ed Miliband is looking for a new business model but he must be careful not to characterise some businesses as asset-strippers. We need businesses to create the wealth and jobs upon which our country's economic recovery will depend. Ed Miliband is right to encourage long-termism in business. Responsible businesses are those committed to investing in their workforce and innovative products and services.” Now the Institute of Directors: “We would like to know how Ed Miliband plans to identify and reward “good” companies and “bad” ones. In practice we think he would find this neither straightforward nor desirable. He should have more faith in customers and investors to decide...Consumers and investors are better equipped and better informed than ever to impose discipline on firms than any government.” How many UK banks are members of the Institute?