Chuka Umunna blasts Ukip as anti-business after CBI speech
Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has branded Nigel Farage’s Ukip anti-business, due to its determination to take Britain out of the EU.
He told City A.M.: “I do think Ukip is an anti-business party. There’s no doubt about that.”
He was similarly critical of the coalition’s approach. “I think this government has compromised not only our position and its ability to gather support behind the british position in Brussels,” he said. “But they’ve also compromised our position on the world stage.”
Labour says an EU vote creates uncertainties for business, and Umunna slammed PM David Cameron’s pledged date for a 2017 referendum as “totally arbitrary”.
He thinks that “for business, Europe is the biggest issue at this general election”.
It was an issue Umunna also raised when he addressed the CBI president’s dinner.
There, he said: “Britain is best when it leads. Not just in Europe, but leading Europe.”