‘WORKING FOR THE CHIEF PREPARED ME TO LEAD THE CBI’

CBI director-general Tony Danker reflects on his previous high-profile roles in the community as he looks ahead to the budget. Candice Krieger reports

The head of the Confederation of British Industry has spoken about how working with the late Lord Sacks and chairing the Union of Jewish Students helped to prepare him for his current challenge.

Tony Danker was appointed director-general of the CBI in November 2020 amid a national lockdown, placing him in a position of prominence at arguably one of the most crucial economic times to take over at the helm. But this is not the first time Danker has taken on a high-profile role.

Speaking of when he was chair of the Union of Jewish Students, he told JN: “In a funny kind of way that was the last time I did a job like this. It was very high profile. I spent a lot of my life with business leaders in the commu- nity, talking to the media and at dinner tables with the chief rabbi and then I went o and got a ‘real’ job, you might say.”

Danker spent 10 years at McKinsey before becoming a special adviser at the Treasury during the Gordon Brown years. He has also held positions at the Guardian News and Media and has been CEO of Be the Business, a businessled movement created to transform the UK’s productivity, founded by a group of FTSE-100 chairmen and former chancellor George Osborne.

“Now, here we are again,” says Danker, who recently launched the CBI’s calls on the government for next week’s spring budget to get the economy growing again and out of any recession sooner rather than later.

The CBI has identified four key areas where it says the government needs to act in the budget: get businesses investing, solve labour skills and shortages, help get firms ready for next winter’s energy pressures and boost green growth in the face of international competition.

One of the CBI’s biggest asks is to replace the super-deduction, which is coming to an end, either by introducing full expensing for capital investment or setting a roadmap towards doing so, starting at 50 percent in April. “This would be a huge boost to firms. It would give them a huge reason to believe in the opportunities we still have as a nation and give them the confidence to invest in that future,” Danker says.

This sits alongside the call for the government to tackle the acute labour shortages by expanding childcare support and health support that firms can o er employees and reforming the Apprenticeship Levy.

“The tight labour market and economic inactivity is another big concern for all businesses across all sectors,” Belfast-born Danker notes. “With more than a million vacancies and UK parents facing some of the highest childcare costs in the OECD [group of 38 developed countries], we need to see immediate action to urgently solve the labour challenge. Without it, businesses are left trying to grow, invest and become more productive with one hand tied behind their backs.”

The CBI has also continued its focus on green markets and energy resilience – supporting firms to be more energy e cient as they prepare for next winter, as well as ensuring the UK can grow its energy security and compete for green markets and technologies.

“Because if we fail to grasp the opportunities now, we will damage UK growth today and for decades to come,” Danker says.

Working in the Jewish community gave Danker early exposure to business people and leaders. “I was 21-24 at the time so that was a really big deal. Whether it was Sir Trevor Chinn or Lord Michael Levy, I was exposed to them from a very young age and I think that had a positive impact on me.”

He spent two years working in the o ce of Lord Sacks, who he a ectionately calls “the Chief”, where he “saw from very young the idea of the public sphere and within national debate how Britain talks to itself about itself”.

He adds: “I learnt that there. Now I found myself in that world but from an economic and business point of view, and it behaves similarly – how Britain talks and debates with itself –and I feel I had a real advantage and privilege to get that insight when I was younger working in the community.”

A member of Barnet Synagogue, Danker says he leant “so much” from Lord Sacks. “He found ways to speak in a way that was incredibly relevant to everybody but was born of Jewish teachings and we were all in awe of that skill.”

The UK’s economy hangs in the balance. While the country may not fall into recession, it is likely to feel like one for millions of people as rising inflation and continued pressures on energy prices makes for a pretty bleak backdrop. Can Danker o er any hope?

“Yes I can,” he responds. “We had a bad 2022, but 2023 has started well inasmuch as we have a prime minister and a chancellor who are completely united in their common policy and putting stability first and I think they have stabilised the situation.

“I am not pessimistic. I have very high expectations and ambitions for UK PLC. We know the economy can, and must, break out of its low-growth trap, but we will need action to achieve it.”

▶ The spring budget is on Wednesday 15 March