British PM hints she may be open to transitional agreement with EU

And the prime minister didn’t stop there.

“Before we know more, we have no concerns”, she said today while speaking to reporters. But she urged companies to work with the government to “build a stronger, fairer Britain together”. On becoming Prime Minister, May gave several speeches suggesting the need for a radical overhaul of the way businesses – and capitalism – worked in order to help those left behind by globalisation.

Asked if she had dropped plans for the direct appointment of workers on boards, May said “there are a number of ways in which that can be achieved”.

“May has made it clear that she wants to prioritise helping those households who are struggling to get by and who feel left behind by the economy’s recovery since the 2008/9 slump”, said IHS Markit economist Howard Archer.

She added that “a starting point is firms being able to outline and explain what approach they are taking – whether that’s employees on boards, employee committees, dedicated representatives, or other models that genuinely address the issue”.

“Businesses are inevitably considering the cliff-edge scenario – a sudden and overnight transformation in trading conditions”, Paul Drechsler, president of the group, said before May spoke.

European Union leaders have said the two aims are incompatible, while a senior official involved in the negotiation said last week that the two-year timescale is also likely to be too short for arranging a full deal for new trade arrangements.

Charles Grant, director at the thinktank Centre for European Reform, said seeking a transition deal could delay key aims of May’s Brexit negotiations such as immigration controls and freedom from European court of justice rulings.

“Businesses around the United Kingdom will strongly welcome a progressive partnership between industry and Government”, she said. The proposals in her speech do not deliver on this.

“So, I would hope that we can complete the negotiations in less than two years after she [Theresa May] has activated Article 50 before the end of March”.

May recommitted her government to a pledge made by the David Cameron regime, to ensure Britain’s corporation tax rates are the lowest of any G20 country. The rate now stands at 20 percent and is expected to fall to 17 percent by 2020. Yet the corporation tax may fall further since the newly elected president Donald Trump suggested cutting USA federation tax from 35% to 15%.

This is not just a “watering down” of May’s pledge, it is a flushing away of it altogether. If Chancellor Philip Hammond’s autumn budget statement on Wednesday doesn’t reverse the Conservatives’ cuts to welfare, it could prove an effective attack line.

“For business it means to spread those benefits around the country, playing by the same rules as everyone else when it comes to tax and behaviour and investing in Britain for the long term”, she added. But following a frosty reception from big business, she has now clarified it will not be mandatory.

The tax system – and subsequent support – covering what may called “innovative firms” would also be reviewed, the Prime Minister said.

The new Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund will back “priority technologies” which includes robotics, biotechnology, artificial intelligence (AI), medical technology, satellites and advanced materials manufacturing.