We must reserve judgment until the Confederation of British Industry’s extraordinary general meeting on Tuesday has taken place, but it is entirely possible that the supposed “crunch” vote on the organisation’s future will instead deliver a mushy message. The outcome could be confusing and open to interpretation.
Why? Well, since several high-profile members – the likes of NatWest, the John Lewis Partnership and Aviva – have resigned, there is a slightly self-selecting flavour to the electorate. It has also been noticeable in the days since the CBI published its “prospectus for change” last week that corporate waverers – companies that “paused” or suspended membership – have not been publicly clamouring to get back into the fold. Maybe some are waiting for the meeting to make a splash or have returned without fanfare. But it’s odd that the top letter-writers to the Times in defence of a 58-year-old British business organisation have been the UK subsidiaries of three foreign firms: Siemens of Germany and Microsoft and ExxonMobil of the US.
