Cabinet Minister Kemi Badenoch has urged British firms to prioritise business over political activism, sparking debate on the role of companies in societal issues. Here’s the full story.
Assault on British Businesses
As the election draws ever nearer, with the Conservatives trailing in the polls, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has launched a full-throated assault on a somewhat surprising constituency: British Businesses.
No Activism Please, We’re British
Strangely, for a Conservative who is famously big on businesses and loves the free market, Badenoch used a recent poll funded by the right-wing Policy Exchange think tank to urge British firms to focus on delivering quality products and services rather than engaging in political activism.
Culture War Issues
Badenoch’s remarks have come as the Conservatives seek to ramp up any culture war issue, such as companies taking political stances, to create clear blue water between their party and Labour before the election.
50% Agree
Badenoch made her remarks in response to a Deltapoll survey of less than 2,000 people conducted for the Policy Exchange think tank. The survey showed that 50% of respondents believed businesses had become “too concerned with taking political positions on contested issues,” while only 14% disagreed.
Future Leader
Badenoch, who has been tipped as a future leader of the Conservative Party, should the election lead to the electoral wipeout of her party, which many polls predict, criticised what she called the “creeping and counter-productive politicisation of our business environment.”
Diverted Focus
Badenoch argued that businesses have increasingly diverted their focus from their core operations to engage in what she sees as political gestures which alienate their target audience.
“What I Know to Be True”
Badenoch stated, “Policy Exchange’s findings confirm what I know to be true from talking to people who run businesses, work in them, and buy from them.”
“Not Activism or Political Causes”
She continued, “The public want the focus of business to be on delivering great products and services, not activism or political causes – which repel as many people as they attract.”
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
However, companies that make political statements were not the only targets picked up by Badenoch, who also used the Deltapoll survey to attack the Conservative’s latest bugbear: equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) initiatives.
75% Agree
According to the Deltapoll survey results, 75% of respondents expressed that companies should hire based on merit rather than focusing on creating diverse teams.
“Recruit on Merit”
Badenoch stated, “Overwhelmingly, people want companies to recruit on merit, selecting the best person for the job without regard to race or gender, rather than social engineering to create ‘diverse teams’.”
“Divide Rather Than Unify”
She continued, “As the recent Inclusion at Work Panel showed, many well-meaning ‘equality, diversity and inclusion’ initiatives divide rather than unify, and undermine organisational goals. They are based on speculative and contested theories with limited evidence of impact.”
“Social Engineering”
Badenoch advocated for “smarter ways to achieve true equality of opportunity” without resorting to what she calls “social engineering.”
“Woke Madness”
Unsurprisingly, Badenoch’s stance has garnered significant support from other right-wing Conservatives, including Tory MP Alexander Stafford, who attacked businesses for pursuing what he called “woke madness.”
“Run off a Cliff”
Stafford stated, “If businesses chase woke madness instead of focusing on the needs of customers they will run off a cliff.”
“Left-Wing Fads”
He continued, “Britain needs its businesses to thrive, and spending precious resources on Left-wing fads and marketing will only damage enterprises.”
Virtue Signalling
Similarly, Dame Priti Patel, the former Home Secretary who broke the ministerial code after a series of undeclared meetings with Israeli politicians, condemned companies that engage in virtue signalling.
“Back to Business Basics”
She stated, “Those companies preaching and lecturing the public should go back to business basics, listen to their angry shareholders, focus on customer service delivery.”
Brands Taking a Stance
Despite the furore by Policy Exchange, Badenoch and her allies in the Conservative party, recent polling of people in the US and UK by Kubi Kalloo and Alligator Digital showed that 59% of consumers believe it matters when brands take a stance.
Buy or Boycott
In contrast to the Deltapoll results, two-thirds of these consumers reported that they would likely buy from or boycott a brand based on its social media posts about an issue.
25% of Under 35s
The survey also highlighted that 15% of consumers had already boycotted a brand over its response to the Black Lives Matter movement, rising to 25% among consumers under 35.
Divide and Conquer
Kemi Badenoch’s call for British firms to refocus on their business and move away from political activism, though likely to delight her supporters on the far right of the Conservative party, seems like another attempt to use a culture war issue to divide voters ahead of an election in which the Conservatives’ record in government is increasingly being called into question.
Political Posturing
It remains to be seen whether this most recent attempt to shift the goalposts from tangible issues, such as the cost-of-living crisis or the ongoing polluting of the UK’s waterways, to issues on which the Conservatives have a more favourable stance will be successful.
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