Sophy Ridge on Sunday Interview with Paul Drechsler, CBI President, 9.07.17

ANY QUOTES USED MUST BE ATTRIBUTED TO SOPHY RIDGE ON SUNDAY, SKY NEWS

SOPHY RIDGE: Now all of a sudden there is a new question buzzing around Westminster – does Brexit really mean Brexit? Backbench Conservative rebels are said to be plotting to scupper the PM’s plan, we’re even told that David Cameron has been calling his former colleagues to make the case for single market membership and now business is wading in too. I am pleased to say we are joined in the studio by Paul Drechsler, who is the President of the CBI, the biggest business group in the UK. Hello, thanks for being with us this morning.

PAUL DRECHSLER: Good morning.

SR: So after a while of staying relatively quiet the CBI has definitely waded in to the Brexit debate this week. Just spell out to us exactly what it is you are calling for.

PAUL DRECHSLER: I think the whole situation now has got to be very serious so what we have done is laid out what I believe is a very common sense set of proposals. We have already decided to leave, March 29th 2019, that date is firmly in the ground. What the CBI team have done is develop a set of proposals about how we leave and how we leave in a way that creates the best possible economic conditions in terms of jobs, in terms of economic growth and importantly for the future of the next generation.

SR: And what is that? Just sum it up.

PAUL DRECHSLER: Well in essence what it says is we continue to operate to the principles and rules that we apply today in terms of the single market, in terms of the customs union, until such time as we have a very clear plan of what the future arrangement looks like.

SR: Some people would look at that and say it looks like you are just trying to cling to the status quo for as long as possible, you’re bad losers.

PAUL DRECHSLER: Well as soon as anybody defines a plan for exit, sets out what it means, then we can transition but in the meantime we don’t have a plan, businesses around the country need to make decisions on investment, on whether to put their headquarters in the UK or somewhere else and whether to place jobs in the UK or somewhere else. Those decisions are being taken now so it’s not about buying time, as soon as somebody has the plan then of course we can know what the future holds. At the moment we don’t, we are no wiser today than we were 12 months ago in terms of what conditions business will be able to plan on for the future.

SR: There’s been a bit of scepticism around the CBI’s proposals, when I said that I was interviewing you on Twitter some people said oh, it’s just business, they’re just keen to keep their cheap labour coming to the UK. One of our paper reviewers described you as the arm of Brussels in the UK. How do you combat that scepticism, is any of it justified?

PAUL DRECHSLER: I think the time has come to have a serious fact-based discussion about what the future looks like. I think the UK has potentially the best next 20 years in front of us than it’s had for decades – opportunities from technology, from artificial intelligence – and the only thing I believe the CBI wants to do is to create the best possible conditions for business in this country to grow and create the jobs of the future and that is an opportunity and we need to focus on the impact of technology, the impact of a changing world, the impact of education and skills needs. There’s a very big agenda to cover in this country just to be able to compete globally, that’s where the attention should be going and in the meantime we need as stable a set of conditions as we can until we define what that future looks like.

SR: One of the big opportunities for growth of course would be a trade deal with the US, something Donald Trump has said he wants to get signed off as quickly as possible. If you have a long transitional deal where the UK stays in the customs union, then that’s not going to be on the table is it?

PAUL DRECHSLER: Well I think you have to look at it this way, the UK is already the largest foreign direct investor in the USA at about $449 billion. The USA is already the largest investor in the UK, we have had business relationships with the UK for a long time.

SR: So wouldn’t it be nice to have a trade deal with the US, isn’t that something you’d welcome?

PAUL DRECHSLER: Of course we would welcome but I think one has to recognise that not every trade deal is necessarily a good and fair deal for both parties. The USA has one of the best negotiating teams in the world in terms of trade deals, we don’t want to walk into a bear hug and I would be wary of trying to be too fast on a trade deal. The important thing is to know what we want to achieve, what the objectives are and what the trade-offs are. A trade deal is a dog eat dog activity, it’s not a diplomatic activity.

SR: Does it worry you then that the government in the UK might be so keen to sign trade deals quickly, get those positive headlines, that it walks into that bear trap?

PAUL DRECHSLER: I think what worries me is that we’re not honest with people about all of these big issues, so we’re going for headlines rather than the facts and evidence. All I think we have to be clear about in the future is this is the most important time for honesty and integrity. Give people the facts, give them the business case, let them understand what these generalised promises are and a wonderful headline from the President of the USA or from the Prime Minister of Japan but the substance that matters is what are the jobs and opportunities for the next generation and what level of debt will this country leave them.

SR: Do you think then that politicians in this country are honestly giving people the facts?

PAUL DRECHSLER: I think we have not had an honest conversation about all the key issues that people are concerned about – about immigration, about some of the challenges that we face in competing on a global basis, about the great opportunities that are around for new technology and new jobs. There is a wonderful future ahead of us but we have to recognise there are also threats and challenges to that and I would just encourage everyone, let’s ease up on the vitriol and let’s focus on the facts and evidence. Let’s engage people in understanding the exciting possibilities, not feed them just bits and pieces that are on the surface exciting but lack no substance beneath. What the CBI did last week I commend the team for which was a well thought out common sense approach, not about whether we leave the EU but how we leave it and we have been focused on making a success of this for the past twelve months and I think the contribution last week can move the debate ahead very significantly if people want to move to that phase.

SR: Some people have portrayed Theresa May as not being friendly enough towards business, do you think that’s right?

PAUL DRECHSLER: Well I think we have been through a period over the past 12 months where across the political spectrum there was perhaps less interest in the world of business but I think 80% of all jobs in the UK come from business. We care about the future of this country, it’s also our children who will be living in this country in the future so I think what we would say is that businesses right across the UK are willing, enthusiastic and have the experience to contribute to the solution.

SR: Thank you very much for coming on the show.

PAUL DRECHSLER: Thank you.