CBI chief slams Labour over lack of business understanding

Rupert Soames, the outgoing chairman of the Confederation of British Industry, said Labour has a shocking lack of understanding of business, telling the BBC that ministers struggle to put themselves into the shoes of running companies. The remarks came as official figures showed the economy contracted in October, a fresh setback for the government's faltering growth hopes.

Soames argued that Labour politicians often view business leaders as nothing more than rampant capitalists, and he said he had never been taken in by Labour's pre-election charm offensive. He described a pattern in which shadow ministers sat in meetings, took notes on business advice, and appeared not to listen, a dynamic he called performative.

Soames said Starmer's growth pledge has not silenced business concerns. Keir Starmer has framed growth as Labour's number-one mission, but business leaders have grown increasingly alarmed as the party signals tax rises and tighter workers' rights on employers.

Soames added that the government has very few people who have actually worked in business in a way that involved employing people and understanding that dynamic, and that ministers too often translate their lack of direct experience into not listening to business voices.

With his term as CBI chair nearing its end, Soames's comments underscore a perennial tension as Britain weighs how to spur growth while balancing the priorities of workers and investors.