Conservative manifesto 2017: Business questions interventionist 'signals'

After criticising Labour's "knee-jerk" general election manifesto, business leaders turned their attention to the Tory offering yesterday – and Theresa May's party has not been spared.

"Businesses hoping for a smooth Brexit, deregulation, and a flexible labour market attacked the… [policies] both for its policies and its tone," says the Financial Times.

"This is not a pro-business manifesto," a "senior business leader" told the paper.

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Adam Marshall, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, told The Times some of the proposals "will be questioned, even by firms that are not directly affected themselves, because of the signals they send".

Policies that have drawn ire include state oversight of companies in telecoms, defence and energy sectors to ensure foreign ownership does not "undermine British security or services".

There will be new powers for regulators to stop takeovers that threaten pensions funding, while excessive executive pay will be tackled by giving investors a binding annual vote and forcing firms to publish pay ratios.

Arguably of most concern to business is the restatement of a target to reduce migration to the tens of thousands and to double the levy on companies hiring non-EU workers to £2,000 a year.

The manifesto was unapologetic about the level of intervention, saying the Conservatives "do not believe in untrammelled free markets", says the Times.

Despite the more interventionist tone, business leaders still seem broadly to favour the party over its main rivals, thanks to a range of tax reductions and reforms including renewing the pledge to reduce corporation tax to 17 per cent, increasing spending on research and development to three per cent of GDP, boost funding for the National Productivity Investment Bank and review business rates.

However, Marshall added: "The positive reception to some elements of the manifesto will be tempered by proposals that would increase upfront costs, regulatory obligations and uncertainty for businesses."