Theresa May has disbanded the group of business leaders assembled by her predecessor to advise on City and financial matters. The prime minster has not created an alternative team after telling the dozen or so business leaders their advice was no longer required.
Her decision to break up the so-called business advisory group – which included the Legal & General chief executive Nigel Wilson and Virgin Money chief executive Jayne-Anne Gadhia - was seen as a signal of a clean break from Cameron’s way of dealing with the City and big business.
When campaigning for the Conservative party leadership after the 23 June referendum, May pledged to clamp down on corporate excess by installing worker representatives on boards – although she has yet to publish any firm proposals. “It is not anti-business to suggest that big business needs to change,” May said at the time.
Cameron’s business advisory group, which met four times a year, was set up during the 2010 coalition government to replace the Business Council for Britain which was handpicked by the previous prime minister, Gordon Brown.
However, a No 10 official said: “The prime minister will seek to draw on a range of advice from businesses big and small.”
The move was welcomed by small business leaders, who will be hoping for a bigger voice and influence as the Brexit negotiations take place. May’s first event at No 10 was a meeting with small businesses.
Mike Cherry, national chairman at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “This is the right moment for No 10 to review its business engagement structures and to broaden them – and we look forward to making sure that small businesses are part of that.”
The CBI, which represents big employers, said: “The CBI regularly meets with the government – the prime minister, chancellor and secretaries of state – for bilateral meetings on a wide range of issues affecting businesses and the economy.”
Cameron’s business advisory group was described as a “small group of business leaders from sectors of strategic importance to the UK that provides regular, high-level advice to the prime minister”. Members were often picked to travel with ministers on foreign visits and were
It was reshuffled after the 2015 election and also included Carolyn McCall, chief executive of easyJet and Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange. During the referendum campaign, its members’ views on Brexit were closely scrutinised. A letter backing the Remain campaign was not signed by some of the advisers including Alison Brittain, chief executive of Costa Coffee owner Whitbread, and Jeff Fairburn, head of housebuilder Persimmon.
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