Theresa May lectures super-rich at Davos as Brexit plan backlash grows

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Theresa May lectured the world’s richest people today on the need to make the global economy work better for ordinary families.

The Prime Minister told the elite of the capitalist system meeting in Davos that too many citizens felt anxious about being “left behind”.

As Mrs May spoke, a backlash was in full swing against her Brexit strategy - but there was good news from one of the biggest banks over the future status of the City of London.

In the latest developments:

  • A French MEP said Boris Johnson was “not a very nice neighbour” after he caused a future by comparing President Francois Hollande with a World War II prison camp guard.

  • Europe’s commissioner for the economy backed leaders who said Britain must not be allowed too generous a Brexit deal, saying: “It cannot be better to be out than in.”

  • The chief executive of Barclays predicted Europe’s financial system will stay based in the city of London, declaring: “I think the UK will continue to be the financial lungs of Europe”

Speaking at the World Economic Forum meeting at the Swiss ski resort, Mrs May said Britain had chosen the “momentous change” and “uncertain road” of leaving the European Union in order to be “in control of its own destiny once again”.

Theresa May addresses an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland
EPA

She told her audience of political and business leaders: “We must heed the underlying feeling that there are some companies, particularly those with a global reach, who are playing by a different set of rules.”

Reform, she said, was “absolutely crucial if we are to maintain public consent for a globalised economy and the businesses that operate within it.”

Her speech was more expansive than her keynote address in London on Tuesday, where she set her opening negotiating stance for Brexit talks.

Mrs May did not repeat her threat to “walk away” without an exit deal if she was refused fair trade terms.

She said her aim was for Britain to become the global champion of free trade.

Following Boris Johnson’s quip about Francois Hollande resembling a World War II prisoner of war camp guard, French MEP Sylvie Goulard demanded: “I would say to all parties, in the UK and Europe, to avoid threatening tones. Sometimes Mr Johnson is not a very nice neighbour.”

To the Foreign Secretary’s claim that Mr Hollande and other EU leaders were threatening “punishment beatings” for the UK escapers, she retorted: “Nobody wants to punish the British people ... This is not punishment. If you are a member of a club you have rights and duties; if you are not a member you don’t have the duties but you don’t have the rights.”

She also hit out at Mrs May for threatening to walk away without a deal, saying that would be akin to “leaving without paying the bill”.

Causing controversy: Boris Johnson
AFP/Getty Images

Pierre Moscovici, the French-born European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, echoed the prime minister of Malta by saying Britain must not be allowed too good a deal.

“It cannot be better to be out than in,” he said. “It cannot be so. You cannot have all the advantages of being in the club when you are out.”

However, he did not fully rule out access to the single market even if Britain refused to keep EU free movement, suggesting there is scope for a deal.

Economic summit: Davos
Shutterstock / Boris-B

Speaking to the BBC in Davos, he said Brexit would damage all parties, “because we are and we must remain strong partners. To us you must understand that it is also a wound”.

Barclays chief executive Jes Staley said the bank was looking at routing some of its activities through its operation in Ireland and Germany but the “bulk” would remain in the UK.

He told the Today programme: “I don’t believe that the European financial centre will leave the City of London.

“I think the UK will continue to be the financial lungs for Europe. We may have to move certain activities ... but I think it’s going to be at the margin and will be manageable.”

Toyota chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada warned that the car firm was now looking at how it can “survive” Brexit.

He told the Financial Times: “We have seen the direction of the Prime Minister of the UK, (so) we are now going to consider, together with the suppliers, how our company can survive.”

Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, warned the UK there is still likely to be “pain” ahead. Before the referendum, Ms Lagarde had said leaving would mean “quite bad to very, very bad” consequences for the UK. Last night she merely said: “We are still of the view that it will not be positive all along and without pain.”

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