Summary
We’re now closing this blog down. Here’s our latest story from my colleague Joanna Partridge on the CBI vote:
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said it has won a confidence vote put to its members after sexual misconduct allegations.
Britain’s most prominent business lobby group said on Tuesday a majority of its members had backed its proposals to overhaul its culture and governance, with 93% of votes cast in favour of continuing to support the CBI, while 7% were against. There were 371 votes in total with 23 abstentions/votes withheld.
In a poll which began last week and closed on Tuesday, the CBI asked its members to vote on the following motion: ‘Do the changes we have made − and the commitments we have set out − to reform our governance, culture, and purpose give you the confidence you need to support the CBI?’
Rain Newton-Smith, the CBI director general, said: ‘After an incredibly tough period, I’m deeply grateful for the faith shown in us by our members. We’ve made real progress in implementing the top-to-bottom programme of change promised by the board and, while there remains work to do, today’s result represents an important milestone on that journey.’
More than 50 of CBI’s highest-profile members, including the retailer John Lewis and banking group NatWest, left the organisation or suspended their membership in April, after the Guardian revealed a series of sexual misconduct allegations, prompting the government and the Labour party to suspend engagement with the body.
Businesses and trade associations that had suspended their membership, rather than terminated it, were still able to take part in the poll.
That article’s being updated as the story develops, so please check back for updates:
Updated
The Guardian covered the establishment of the Confederation of British Industry in 1965, reporting on the appointment of its first director-general John Davies.
The chairman of Shell-Mex and BP Ltd spoke confidently on taking up his new post at the CBI – an organisation set up to enable British industry to speak with one voice – on how industry and government were now “strongly intermeshed” and need each other’s assistance to progress.
Updated
