by Samuel Dale
Today the leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition Ed Miliband, prospective Chancellor Ed Balls and future minister Chuka Umunna were tearing shreds out of well-known chemist, Boots.
With less than 100 days to a general election Labour is not promoting a new policy to boost growth, there are no proposals to boost pensions or housing (or, heaven forbid, cut the deficit) so instead the party returns to its old favourite: business bashing.
In an interview with the Sunday Telegraph Alliance Boots executive chairman Stefano Pessina said a Miliband Government would be a “catastrophe” for Britain.
Pessina didn’t go into policy detail but made it very clear that he thought Miliband would be a Hollande-style disaster.
It’s hardly a surprise that major businesses are criticising a party that is planning to raise corporation and income tax, impose price controls, tax tobacco firms, fund managers, pensions, payday lenders and banks while increasing the regulation of energy firms, railways, financial services and employment law.
Meanwhile, the Tories want to cut taxes across the board and attract as much business to Britain as possible.
It is emphatically not a surprise to see a business leader speaking out, Ed Miliband has done everything he can to bait them.
He has made no olive branch to recognise business’ role as job creators or tried to attract more foreign companies and investment to the UK.
Instead of responding to Pessina with a list of pro-business policies, Labour has none. It has no choice but to go on the counter-attack.