The president of the CBI has urged West business leaders to press for a ‘soft’ Brexit with full access to the European Single Market and to also counter the view that immigration is bad for the UK.
Paul Drechsler CBE told the South West CBI annual dinner that he was “fed up” with business being portrayed as the villain when it came to vital talks about post-Brexit Britain. 
Speaking to around 400 business leaders drawn from many of the region’s largest firms, he congratulated businesses for being “resilient in the face of adversity” brought about by the result of the EU referendum.
“You just get on and do it,” he told them. But while the Prime Minister’s announcement that Article 50 – which begins the process of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU – will be triggered next April answers one question about Brexit, many more remained, he said.
He called on business leaders from Swindon and across the South West to lobby for full access to the Single Market to avoid damaging trade tariffs – and he also said he wanted business to play a much bigger role in showing that the UK benefited from immigration.
“Business has a responsibility to explain the benefits of immigration,” he said. “Our economy depends on the 30,000 construction workers who are here from the EU and the 5% of university students. Our public services rely on people who have come to work here.
“We need to be much more honest to people about the benefits of immigration. We are a global trading nation and we need the best talent in the world to come and work here.
“Our universities work with other universities around the world. People from Britain go and live and work abroad. It’s a win-win.”
Mr Drechsler, who was elected as president of the UK’s largest business organisation in July, said the world was moving on and Britain needed to keep up.
“We can’t hark back to the so-called good old days. Young people don’t see the world like this. They want to go abroad and work,” he said.
He feared that business was being seen as the villain over immigration – a reference to comments by Home Secretary Amber Rudd accusing some businesses of bringing in workers from the EU without first trying to recruit locally.
He also said there needed to be a bigger emphasis on innovation by showing that all businesses can innovate.
“It’s not just about research departments spending 20 years developing something. Innovation doesn’t have to be rocket science,” he said.
He used Trowbridge-based food producer apetito as a prime example. The firm, which makes meals for care homes, local authorities and hospitals, this year won its second Queen’s Award for Innovation for developing ground-breaking texture modified meals for people who find it hard to swallow food.
The dinner in Bristol also heard from new CBI South West chair Andrew Livingston, CEO of Yeovil-based trade tool and hardware retailer Screwfix. He replaced UWE vice-chancellor Steve
He called for business leaders to press for infrastructure improvements across the South West.
He told guests at the dinner: “In my job I spend a lot of time in places like India and China visiting our suppliers.
“Even roads in India are better than the A303. And when I’m in quite remote parts of India I never have less than four bars on my phone.”
The dinner was sponsored by CBI members Barclays, Burges Salmon and Plymouth University.
Barclays head of large corporate banking for South West and Wales, Lee Everson, said: “Barclays was once again proud to be the principal sponsor of the CBI South West annual dinner, a key date in the business calendar attracting many of the region’s leading businessmen and women.
“This year’s event provided the perfect platform to highlight some of the challenges and opportunities ahead while continuing to recognise the achievements and strength of the South West business community and the exceptional talent the region has to offer.”
