City bosses have expressed concern at the prospect of a hung parliament with no outright majority resulting from the general election in May, which they say could hinder the country’s fragile economy.
As the Financial Times reports, market instability and a vacuum of investment and job creation are likely by-products of the four-month run-up to the election, with bosses averse to taking risks amid political uncertainty.
Sir Win Bischoff, chairman of the Financial Reporting Council, warned of a “year of great anxiety and worry”, in the newspaper’s survey of some of the most notable figures in the City of London.
Dame Alison Carnwath, who chairs Land Securities, suggests it is understandable that there is some trepidation in the market assuming “an inconclusive election, the ghastly possibility of a second general election [and] a possible EU referendum”.
The views surfaced in an online debate on the risks ahead in 2015, conducted among more than 50 business leaders and run by the FT City Network.
For some city bosses, an inconclusive general election is not the only outcome which could cause problems for firms, pointing a finger at Labour’s perceived anti-business stance.
Others, meanwhile, pondered the impact of the rising hostility towards immigration under a Conservative-led administration. Roughly 40% of workers in the finance sector are estimated to be non-British.
There are also concerns about the implications of the recent terrorist attacks in Paris, with bosses found to be anxious over the inability of governments to address the rise of extremism across Europe.
Source: FT
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