UK politicians woo business leaders as elections loom

With general elections around the corner, the heads of UK’s three biggest political par-ties gathered in London to woo the country’s business leaders with their plans and to convince them of bringing an end to the country’s economic uncertainty over Brexit.

On Monday, leader of the ruling Conservative party Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson ad-dressed delegates at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference. CBI, which represents about 190,000 businesses employing around 7 million people, has been an ardent critic of Brexit and considers it as ‘a tripwire into economic chaos’.

Johnson, whose chances of getting back in power seem higher than the rest, in his speech, mentioned several tax cuts for British businesses, though he said that his party would delay a further cut in corporation tax.

Johnson while addressing the cause of the UK’s plummeting economy, mentioned that de-lay in Brexit was sabotaging the country’s business, blocking investment and hampering job creation, and reiterated that “we must get Brexit done.”

He said the UK economy was “still not achieving what it could ... and the country is being held back, let’s be clear, by politics, and by a parliament that for the last three and a half years has simply failed to discharge its basic promise made umpteen times to honor the mandate of the people and to deliver Brexit, and that is why we need this election now.”

UK Parliament has not given its go-ahead to Johnson’s Brexit deal and has asked him to request EU for another extension to the Brexit deadline, to January 31, 2020. Johnson views December 12 general election as a way to break this deadlock over the Brexit deal. Johnson said, “One of the advantages of voting Conservative in this election is that we can and will get it done, and get it done in a matter of weeks. We have a deal that is ready to go, just add hot water, stir in the pot, it’s there.”

After Johnson, Corbyn took to stage announcing his party’s propaganda, which mainly focused on setting a fairer society and an economy that “works for everyone.” He said that his party would let people decide the fate of Brexit deal and work on setting up a sustainable investment board and create 320,000 apprenticeships for young Britons. Corbyn also criticized Britain’s potential trade with the US, highlighting that the deal could harm a few sectors of the UK economy, such as the steel industry.