Kemi Badenoch orders British companies to ‘end woke madness’

Last night, top ministers told woke bosses to stop lecturing people and get back to delivering great products and services. Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch accused businesses of wasting too much time on political actions and activities that could alienate potential customers.

He also called for a return to common sense when recruiting staff, warning that “well-intentioned” equality, diversity and inclusion efforts could “divide rather than unite”.

She was backed by Conservative and Red Cliff MP Alexander Stafford, who denounced “woke madness”. Mr Badenoch (left), a leading candidate to become the next Conservative Party leader, said: “The public wants business to be focused on providing great products and services, not on activities or political causes. “Political movements repel as many people as they attract.”

Her comments will please fans on the Conservative right, but are likely to provoke a fierce backlash from the left. Her rant comes as research shows that only a minority of people are more likely to buy products from companies that publicly support “progressive” causes such as Palestinian statehood or transgender rights. It is supported.

The majority of people said either nothing would change or they would be less likely to buy the product, according to Policy Exchange’s Deltapol survey.

Mrs Badenoch, who was born in London to parents of Nigerian descent and grew up in the US and Nigeria, added: Create “diverse teams” over social engineering. ”

He said many “well-intentioned” equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives “divide rather than unify” and “undermine the goals of organizations”, adding that “there are smarter ways to achieve true equality of opportunity”. He added that he supports the method. She attacked the “counterproductive politicization creeping into our business environment.”

He has previously criticized the Financial Conduct Authority’s proposals to introduce diversity and inclusion requirements, warning of “over-regulation”.

These are expected to result in one-off costs of £561m and annual costs of £317m.

Last night, the Business Secretary’s position was backed by Dame Priti Patel, who was a target of ‘woke’ businesses when she was home secretary. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream sparks heated controversy after criticizing her stance on illegal immigration, saying: “The real crisis is the lack of humanity towards people fleeing war, climate change and torture.” Ta.

Dame Pretty told the Sunday Express it was wrong to “preach” the public into accepting “the agenda of big corporate brands”. And she said: “Companies that preach and preach to the masses should go back to business basics, listen to angry shareholders, focus on providing customer service, and avoid divisive political campaigns that seek to undermine values. We should stop deploying and acting like we are political influencers,” and the principles of consumer freedom and choice. ”

Conservative MP Alexander Stafford said: “If companies pursue woke madness instead of focusing on the needs of their customers, they will fall off a cliff.” “Britain needs to grow its own business.” , spending valuable resources on left-wing trends and marketing only hurts companies.”

A survey by think tank Policy Exchange found that three-quarters of Americans say companies should “appoint or promote the most qualified person for the job” without considering race or gender.

Tory peer Lord Frost, former leader of the UK Leaving the EU The negotiator said: “This poll shows that most Brits want to go back to the days when merit-based recruitment and good customer service were priorities for companies.” Stated.

And John Longworth, chairman of the Independent Business Network, warned last night: Wake up and go bankrupt. ”

Opinion polls highlight concerns in the workplace about diversity initiatives. Almost half of respondents (49%) sometimes or often avoid saying “professionally correct things” at work for fear of “being politically incorrect or accidentally offending.” They report that they are avoiding it.

Deltapol’s research also found that only 15% of people are willing to buy products from companies that oppose government policies to reduce immigration.

The FCA said it needed more diversity and pledged to “prioritize proposals that strengthen expectations for companies to tackle misconduct such as bullying and sexual harassment”.

“Increasing diversity and inclusion within the companies we regulate can improve internal governance, decision-making and risk management,” the report said.

A recent bipartisan report, Sex Discrimination in Cities, found that “sexual harassment and bullying, up to and including serious sexual assault and rape, remain prevalent in the financial services industry, and that companies are increasingly reluctant to respond to such allegations. It is shocking to hear how inadequate the response has been.” Action”. Only 12% of people think banks should be allowed to “stop doing business with someone because of their lawfully expressed opinions or political views.”

Nearly six in 10 people did not support so-called “debanking.” Lara Brown, senior research fellow at Policy Exchange, said the survey shows “the public strongly believes that companies should prioritize meritocracy and strong customer service over contentious political positions.” He said there was. She added: “Customers don’t need companies to demonstrate a commitment to progressive principles, and they don’t need to make spending decisions based on a retailer’s political statements.”