Our CEO Jasmine Whitbread, alongside more than 30 of London’s leading businesses, wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling on the Government to avoid serious disruption to UK businesses by agreeing to a Brexit deal. This letter was originally published in the Evening Standard.
Dear Prime Minister,
As the capital’s biggest employers, we are relieved that you have committed to going the extra mile in talks with the European Union.
It is critical now to push this through to a conclusion to avoid an unnecessarily difficult start to 2021 for the sake of citizens on both sides of the Channel, who are reeling from the personal and economic impacts of Covid-19.
As we move to recovery, we must start the year with resolution on the shape of our future trading relationship with the EU, so that our businesses can recover, recalibrate, and grow with greater certainty ahead of them. This will support jobs and prosperity for the nation.
We welcome the decision to stay at the table and would urge you to keep a deal as the desired outcome. For the UK to rapidly return to growth, we need to keep our retailers, hauliers and manufacturers moving during the early months of the new year so that we do not face a further economic set back just as the vaccine starts to offer a route out of the tunnel.
The capital’s businesses are committed to doing everything they can to make the UK an economic success story, but they need as much clarity as possible to be able to get 2021 off on the right foot.
You have our full support to do a deal. We urge you to start 2021 as a new beginning and focus on what it takes to get our economy back on track.
Yours sincerely,
Jasmine Whitbread
CEO, London First
With London First members:
Alan Belfield, Chairman, Arup
Basil Scarsella, CEO, UK Power Networks
Brendan Sarsfield, CEO, Peabody
Chris Rumfitt, Founder and CEO, Field Consulting
Darrell Mercer, Chief Executive, A2Dominion Housing Group
David Cowans, Chief Executive, Places for People
Des Gunewardena, Chairman and CEO, D&D London
Dyan Crowther, CEO, HS1 Limited
Evelyn Bourke, Group CEO, Bupa
Geeta Nanda OBE, CEO, Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing
Jace Tyrrell, Chief Executive, New West End Company
James Harris, Group Managing Director, Mott MacDonald
James Raynor, CEO, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland
Jasminder Singh, Chairman and CEO, Edwardian Hotels London
Jeremy Rees, CEO, ExCeL London
Kathryn Nichols, CEO, Nichols Group
Killian Hurley, CEO, Mount Anvil
Mark Bensted, Chief Executive, Powerday
Mark Reynolds, CEO, Mace Group
Michael Brodtman, Chairman, CBRE UK
Michael Payton, Chairman, Clyde & Co
Pamela Thompson, Chair, Eversheds Sutherlands
Paula Carney, Managing Director, CarneySweeney
Paul Stephen, Principal and Chief Executive, Newham College London
Paul Weston, Senior Vice President, Regional Head, UK, Prologis
Peter Hogg, UK Cities Director, Arcadis
Philip Hoare, President, Atkins
Professor Amanda J. Broderick, Vice-Chancellor & President, University of East London
Ros Goode, Regional Managing Director, Avison Young
Ruth Duston, Chief Executive, South Westminster BIDs
Scott Parsons, Regional Managing Director, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
Simon Carter, CEO, British Land
Simon Levine, Partner & Global co-CEO, DLA Piper UK LLP
Simon Prichard, Senior Partner, Gerald Eve
Sir George Iacobescu CBE, Executive Chairman, Canary Wharf Group
