Ed Balls tries to calm war of words as row with Boots boss escalates

http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/feb/03/business-chiefs-labour-miliband

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Ed Balls has sought to calm a “bitter war of words” between Labour and some businessmen, suggesting those who have spoken out against his party are a small number of Conservative supporters with a Conservative view of the world.

Speaking at a conference on infrastructure, the shadow chancellor said there was a spread of Labour and Conservative supporters in the world of business but the vast majority simply wanted to work with the government in pursuit of a good education system, Britain staying in the European Union and a stable policy environment.

Balls struck a conciliatory tone after two days of tension between Labour and Boots boss Stefano Pessina, who gave an interview suggesting Ed Miliband as prime minister would be a catastrophe for Britain. Miliband and other senior Labour figures, including Balls, then accused Pessina of being a tax-avoider and said there was an “unholy alliance” between people like him and the Conservative party.

The personal nature of the attack from Labour then drew further criticism from businessmen in right-leaning newspapers. Lord Rose, a former chief executive of Marks and Spencer, Conservative party peer and Tory donor, told the Daily Mail that Pessina was entitled to his opinion as the head of a company that employs 70,000 people, and did not deserve a “tide of derision” and “personal jibes”, while B&Q chief and member of David Cameron’s business taskforce, Sir Ian Cheshire, told the Telegraph that Labour’s personal attacks on Pessina were “pretty unattractive”.

Also speaking to the Telegraph, the Heathrow airport chairman, Sir Nigel Rudd, said making personal attacks on people stifled debate: “It makes people think twice about voicing their opinions. We should listen to all opinions, especially people who have created as many jobs and are as astute as Stefano Pessina. I would not make personal attacks on union leaders – either if they had a view that I agree with or disagree with. We should encourage people to enter the debate.”

Asked about the row at a conference attended by leading companies, including BT, Legal and General, EDF and Thames Water, Balls said it was understandable that some from the business community want to express political views.

“On the bitter war of words, the reality is that there are going to be some issues in any society which become very divisive politically,” he said. “The level of taxation you levy at any point in time, there will always be different views on that. Whether or not we should have a health service which is predominantly free or whether people pay. There will always be some people in every community, including the business community, who take a political view.

“There will be some identified Labour-supporting business people who take a Labour view and there will be some Conservative-supporting business people who take a Conservative view. They might even end up becoming Conservatives ministers or Conservative peers.

“My sense is the vast majority of business people don’t take a Labour view or Conservative view, but the best way forward for our country to support jobs or growth and they want to work with the government of the day and they want us to try and take a long-term view.”

The Conservatives, including chancellor George Osborne, have seized on Pessina’s comments as support for their arguments about Conservative economic competence. However, Boris Johnson, the London mayor, took a slightly different position on his LBC phone-in, saying it was “disappointing” that Boots is domiciled in Switzerland.

He said it was “quite refreshing to see some tycoon saying what he thinks” and argued the Labour party had no interest in wealth creation.

But he added: “In business terms, it’s what he’s got to do. I have to say I find it a little bit disappointing that he doesn’t cough up for Britain – that is my view and I’ve made that view plain in many other cases.”

Boots moved its formal tax residence from Britain to Switzerland after Pessina’s private equity-backed buyout in 2007. The Conservative party denied it had anything to do with Pessina’s comments, though the party is known to have approached businesspeople to speak out against independence in the runup to the Scottish referendum.