Business leaders back Boris to drive recovery

 

Bosses from some of Britain’s major firms today backed Boris Johnson to win a second term as London Mayor.

Among the business leaders to support the Tory candidate are those running Odeon and UCI Cinemas, pub chain JD Wetherspoon, advertising giant WPP and the restaurant empire which includes The Ivy and J Sheekey.

Mr Johnson was praised for his ability to drive a hard bargain for London and push his plans through — whereas rival Ken Livingstone was painted as yesterday’s man and criticised for wasteful spending while in office.

Former Marks and Spencer chief Sir Stuart Rose said: “Boris has done a pretty good job. He has a robust plan and I’m supportive. He’s a man who gets to the point and gets things done.”

Richard Caring, whose restaurant empire includes The Ivy and J Sheekey, said: “Ken is a perfectly decent man but he’s too much of an old-school politician, Ken’s all about Ken, Boris is all about London. As a restaurateur, I liked it that Boris came out against Westminster council on the parking issue.”

JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin added: “When I first moved to London, Ken was in charge and he opened this huge library near where I lived in Wood Green. It was my first taste of his extravagance and that’s always stuck with me. So I’m backing Boris — I hope he’ll spend money more wisely than Ken has done.”

Charlie Mullins, founder of Pimlico Plumbers, agreed: “It comes down to a race between a man who left London’s finances in a mess and is outlandishly promising to cut the price of practically everything, versus a politician with a credible and detailed plan for growing London’s economy.” The comments follow a survey that found bosses overwhelmingly back Mr Johnson as the best man to handle the capital’s economy at a time of double-dip recession.

Some 63 per cent chose the Mayor in the ComRes poll for LondonLovesBusiness.com, while nine per cent backed Mr Livingstone and two per cent opted for Liberal Democrat Brian Paddick.

Several stressed the importance of continuity amid turmoil in the eurozone and growth fears. Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of advertising giant WPP, said: “My concern is giving political leaders enough time. Chopping and changing doesn’t make sense, so on balance I’d give Boris another term to let him carry out his plans.”

Rupert Gavin, the boss of Odeon and UCI Cinemas, agreed: “London needs continuity and four years is too short a period to be deciding to junk Boris’s approach in favour of going back to Ken’s.” Helena Morrissey, chief executive of Newton Investment Management, said: “Boris is one of the few politicians who has stood up for the City in recent years and gets it that without a strong financial centre we have a weaker economy. You can’t redistribute wealth if none is created.”

Michael Spencer, the boss of broker Icap and a former Tory party treasurer, said: “Boris has proved himself to be an excellent Mayor in demanding circumstances and his support for the City and our financial services industry has been particularly welcome.”

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