Umunna seeks to build bridges with business

Labour's Chuka Umunna is seeking to build bridges with the corporate world, distancing himself from some of his leader's critical remarks about business.

The man who could be Britain's next business secretary said in an interview with the FT that he does not want a "seismic shift" in business policy, responding to concerns from companies about his party's intentions.

"The old solutions of whacking taxes on business, increasing the regulatory burden, going for a command/control approach to your economy are in no way going to really help you tackle the challenges of the 21st century," he said.

But business may take some convincing; Labour has promised new taxes in several areas, from a tobacco levy to bank taxes, while also intervening in the energy market.

Defending plans to increase corporation tax to fund a cut in small business rates, he said: "It is not because we want to tax large companies more - it's because we live in fiscally straitened times."

He promised there would be continuity wherever possible if Labour wins next month's general election.

"Just because we proposed changes in a few sectors does not mean that we are proposing changes in every sector," he argued. "It's not a seismic shift."

The MP has grown closer to Tony Blair and Lord Mandelson, the architects of New Labour, amid expectations that he could be a frontrunner to succeed leader Ed Miliband in any future contest.

Mr Miliband famously divided companies into good and bad camps in his conference speech four years ago: "Are you on the side of the wealth creators or the asset-strippers? The producers or the predators?" he asked.

That speech prompted criticism from business leaders, who accused the Labour leader of naivety and oversimplification. But Mr Umunna, asked whether Mr Blair's controversial consultancy - Tony Blair Associates - was a producer or a predator, replied: "I'm not in the business of going around labelling any particular business in that way."

He insisted he was not criticising Mr Miliband. "He was referring to business models, practices and behaviour . . . not giving a label to every single business."

He is unstintingly loyal to Mr Miliband, who gave him the shadow cabinet post in 2011 just after his 32nd birthday.

Yet his language is often markedly different to his leader.

Asked if business should fear a Labour victory, he replied: "Of course not." But he issued a warning to the 100 or so business leaders who signed a recent letter attacking his party.

"Business feels the adversarial nature of our politics and the Punch & Judy nature of it has stood in the way of establishing political consensus on long-term investment decisions," he said.

"There is a contradiction between bemoaning the party political nature of business debate and pouring fuel on that party politics in the heat of an election campaign."

Mr Umunna began his political journey in the leftwing Compass group within the Labour party, but has since shown a flexible approach. He said most voters shunned ideology and no longer saw things in terms of left and right. "I'm not sure coming out of the crash people adjusted their ideological horizons."

He said he would also be less partisan than some of his senior colleagues.

"I'm not the most tribal of politicians and I'm quite happy to work with people from other parties and accept that they've got good ideas, like Lord Heseltine, for example, and Vince [Cable]", he said.

"Equally within the Labour family I'm not particularly tribal either."

At the same time, he launched a withering attack on the Tories for promising £20bn of unfunded commitments in recent days. "They are desperate, and I think that insults the public's intelligence," he said. "People are not stupid."

Asked about his relations with Mr Blair and Lord Mandelson he offered an answer straight from the New Labour textbook: "I just think we've got to get away with looking at people from the prism of personality."

Chuka Umunna: key quotes

On Labour offering workers the chance to buy their own company when it comes up for sale

"There is a fair amount of hysteria that has been whipped up about this which is out of all proportion. The idea we'd do this against the wishes of the existing owner is nonsense."

On European referendum

"If you put a gun to the head of our European partners and say, give us what we want or we walk out, that isn't a sensible way to win friends and allies. I can't stand this kind of sulky obstructionism that has been adopted by the current government."

On Scotland

"The challenge in Scotland hasn't just evolved over the last six months, it has evolved over the last two decades . . . It's not something that you can fix overnight."

On the SNP

"The SNP are intensely relaxed and quite comfortable to see a Tory government returned in Westminster for their own political convenience."

On Labour's greatest ever leader

"I'd say it has got to be Atlee, really, hasn't it? I don't think anybody else can surpass him."

On a new runway in the southeast

"We'll make a swift decision. Michael Dugher, Ed Balls and myself have been absolutely clear that we need to expand airport capacity . . . Ed Miliband agrees, absolutely."

On more privatisations

"Do I think the way that we resolve our debt and deficit issues is to flog off the family silver? We're not going to engage in that kind of jiggery-pokery."

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