London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 29, 2025

Corporate bosses scramble to fill void left by CBI crisis

Corporate bosses scramble to fill void left by CBI crisis

Major British companies are this weekend being invited to join BizUK, an emergency body being set up after initial talks with Labour and Tory officials.
Some of Britain's biggest companies are this weekend scrambling to fill the void left by the crisis at the CBI as they consider backing a new body being set up after talks with Conservative and Labour officials.

Sky News has learnt that businesses from across a range of sectors including banking, insurance, retail and telecoms have been contacted about the launch of BizUK.

The organisation, which is being assembled by WPI Strategy, a leading public affairs firm, will not seek to replace the CBI directly but will be a temporary body that will try to help private sector chiefs influence the main political parties' manifestoes with a general election potentially only 18 months away.

A letter sent on Friday by Nick Faith, WPI's director, to FTSE-100 companies and seen by Sky News, said BizUK would "support the representation of business to the main political parties in this critical pre-election period".

He wrote: "This is being set up in light of the issues currently affecting the CBI, which while hopefully temporary, do mean there is an acknowledged lack of representation on crucial national policy issues for at least the period towards the next election.

"It is clear that businesses operating in the UK need an independent, cross-sector organisation which can ensure they can continue to meet and work constructively with political decision-makers."

Mr Faith, who declined to comment to Sky News, said in the letter that WPI had "held recent, encouraging discussions with both the Government and Opposition parties" about the initiative.

He insisted: "To be clear from the outset, we are not looking to replace the CBI.

"We are not a trade body.

"Instead BizUK will be a temporary, time-limited initiative, focused on helping businesses communicate new thinking ahead of the next general election."

Mr Faith said its work would focus on four core areas: skills and productivity; trade and investment; science and technology; and energy security and decarbonisation.

He added that BizUK's membership would be "limited in number", although he did not specify how many companies had been invited to join.

Its intention will be to produce four main reports that will enable BizUK "to advocate clear and coherent policy positions that best represent its members' views".

"BizUK would work closely with decision makers right across the political spectrum to ensure the findings from our workstreams are communicated ahead of the next general election."

He said that the new organisation's members would be publicly disclosed companies and would - unlike the CBI's fee structure - all pay the same membership cost.

WPI was the architect of the Covid Recovery Commission, a cross-sector liaison group which worked to influence post-pandemic economic policy.

The rapid establishment of a heavyweight new business forum focused on liaising with government could represent a hammer blow to the CBI, which said after an emergency board meeting on Friday that it would suspend its core operations until June.

It then plans to hold an extraordinary general meeting of members to allow them to vote on a way forward for the UK's biggest business lobbying group, which has been brought to the brink of collapse by its handling of a series of sexual abuse scandals.

Last week, the CBI fired its director-general, Tony Danker, saying he had lost the confidence of its board after a string of allegations about his personal conduct.

He accused the group of "throwing me under a bus".

The CBI appointed Rain Newton-Smith - until recently its chief economist - as Mr Danker's successor, but although she is regarded as capable, her appointment was roundly criticised for failing to embrace the kind of reform that members believe the CBI requires.

On Friday, companies including Aviva, BMW, John Lewis Partnership and NatWest Group said they were terminating their membership in protest at the CBI's culture and mishandling of the scandal.

One boss said rejoining the CBI would only be conceivable if it recruited an outsider as its director-general and replaced Brian McBride, its president.

The organisation, which was established by Royal Charter in 1965, has 190,000 members, who until yesterday included the majority of Britain's best-known companies.

The Guardian reported on Friday that a second former female CBI employee had alleged that she was raped by a colleague during her time at the lobbying group.

"We have listened carefully to what our colleagues, members and stakeholders have said over recent days and weeks," the CBI board said.

"We have heard loud and clear a demand for far-reaching change.

"We want to properly understand from our colleagues, members, experts and stakeholders how they envisage our future role and purpose.

"As a result, we have taken the difficult but necessary decision to suspend all policy and membership activity until an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in June.

"At the EGM we will put forward proposals for a refocused CBI to our membership for them to decide on the future role and purpose of the organisation.

"This work and the cultural reform will be the entire and urgent focus of the organisation over the coming weeks."
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
×