Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner at a major campaign event in central London on Saturday. Photo: PA
Almost twice as many British business leaders would prefer Labour’s Angela Rayner to be the next deputy prime minister over the Conservative incumbent, Oliver Dowden, according to a new poll, despite concern about her workers rights agenda.
Some 34pc of the 1,000 UK business decision-makers surveyed by polling firm Savanta in June said they would prefer Rayner, who served as shadow secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities before Parliament was dissolved. That compares with 17pc for Dowden, prime minister Rishi Sunak’s right-hand man and the current deputy prime minister.
Around 32pc of respondents said they preferred neither. Those who took part were owners and directors for small businesses, and senior managers or executives for medium and large companies.
Rayner remains the favorite even though some 51pc of respondents said they were concerned about the workers rights plan that she has championed.
That compares with 67pc who said they worried about the economy if Labour took power and 61pc who said that immigration would be a concern.
“Our research suggests that business leaders are more concerned about what impact a Labour government might have on fundamentals such as the economy and taxation, rather than more controversial topics such as workers’ rights and EDI policy – implying the Conservatives don’t necessarily understand the needs of a usually receptive key audience,” said Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta.
Still, half said that Keir Starmer’s opposition party would be the best choice for business, giving it a 22-point lead over Sunak’s Tories.
“Head-to-head, business decision-makers prefer Labour figures over most of their Conservative counterparts by a pretty convincing margin,” Hopkins said.
Some 42pc preferred Starmer to be the UK’s next prime minister, giving him a 15-percentage-point lead over Sunak. Rachel Reeves held a narrower, five-point lead over Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt to get top post at the treasury.
Labour’s business-secretary-in-waiting, Jonathan Reynolds, was favoured over incumbent Kemi Badenoch, 26pc to 19pc. The only Conservative official preferred by more businesses over his Labour counterpart was foreign secretary David Cameron, whom led would-be replacement David Lammy, 34pc to 25pc.