Back us, don't bash us, business leaders warn David Cameron

Sunday Telegraph (UK) ^ | 10:00PM BST 13 May 2012 | Emma Rowley

[Olog-hai]

Britain's business leaders will warn David Cameron that the Government’s attitude to business must change, after they were told to stop complaining.

Members of the Prime Minister’s business advisory group will say that the atmosphere surrounding business in the UK is becoming increasingly “toxic”.

Mr. Cameron’s face-off with the chief executives of major companies, including Sainsbury’s, Centrica and the Prudential, comes at a time when relations between the private sector and the Government are under strain.

Last week’s Queen’s Speech setting out the Coalition’s plans for the year was criticized by many in business, including Sainsbury’s chief executive Justin King, for doing too little to support growth.

And William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, yesterday used an interview with The Sunday Telegraph to tell the Government’s business critics to “(get) on with the task of creating more of those jobs and more of those exports, rather than complaining about it”.

Leaders at the Downing Street meeting will tell the Government that it must appear to be consistently on the side of business. The feeling is that the Cabinet makes the right noises about small businesses, but not the large companies responsible for much of the economy. …