A TOP Cabinet minister last night told woke bosses to stop lecturing people and get back to delivering great goods and services. Business Secretary Kemi Bade-noch accused firms of wasting too much time on political gestures and activism which can turn off potential customers.
She also called for a return to common sense when recruiting staff, warning that “well-meaning” equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives can “divide rather than unify”.
She was backed by fellow Tory and Red Wall MP Alexander Stafford who slammed the “woke madness”. Mrs Badenoch, left, a hot favourite to be next Conservative leader, declared: “The public want the focus of business to be on delivering great products and services, not activism or political causes – which repel as many people as they attract.”
Her remarks will delight her fans on the Tory Right but are likely to provoke a fierce backlash from the Left. Her outburst is backed by research which shows only a tiny minority of people are more likely to buy a company’s products if it publicly backs “progressive” causes such as Palestinian statehood or transgender rights.
The majority said it would make no difference or would be less likely to buy goods, according to a Deltapoll survey for Policy Exchange.
Mrs Badenoch, who was born in London to parents of Nigerian origin and grew up in the US and Nigeria, added: “Overwhelmingly, people want companies to recruit on merit, selecting the best person for the job without regard to race or gender, rather than social engineering to create ‘diverse teams’.”
She said that many “well-meaning” equality, diversity and inclusion initiatives “divide rather than unify” and “undermine organisational goals”, adding that she supported “smarter ways to achieve true equality of opportunity”. She attacked the “creeping and counter-productive politicisation of our business environment”.
In the past, she has criticised the Financial Conduct Authority’s proposals to introduce diversity and inclusion requirements, warning of “regulatory overreach”.
These are expected to result in one-off costs of £561million and annual costs of £317million.
Last night, the Business Secretary’s stand was backed by Dame Priti Patel, who was the target of a “woke” firm when she was Home Secretary. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream triggered a furious row when it criticised her stance on tackling illegal migration, stating the “real crisis is our lack of humanity for people fleeing war, climate change and torture”.
Dame Priti told the Sunday Express that “lecturing” the public to accept the “goals of big business brands is out of order”. And she said: “Those companies preaching and lecturing the public should go back to business basics, listen to their angry shareholders, focus on customer service delivery and stop behaving as if they are political influencers by forging divisive political campaigns that seek to undermine the values and principles of consumer freedom and choice.”
Tory MP Alexander Stafford said: “If businesses chase woke madness instead of focusing on the needs of customers they will run off a cliff. “Britain needs its businesses to thrive, and spending precious resources on Left-wing fads and marketing will only damage enterprises.”
Research for the Policy Exchange think tank has found three quarters of people say firms should “appoint or promote the person most qualified for the job” without taking into account race or gender.
Tory peer Lord Frost, Britain’s former chief Brexit negotiator, said: “This polling shows most British people want to go back to the time when recruitment on merit and of good customer service were the priorities for companies.”
And John Longworth, chairman of the Independent Business Network, warned last night: “Growth is vital if we are not to become poorer and poorer as a nation. Go woke, go broke.”
The polling lays bare unease in the workplace about diversity efforts. Almost half – 49 per cent – of respondents report sometimes or often avoiding saying “something professionally legitimate” at work for fear of not being “politically correct or accidentally causing offence”.
The Deltapoll research also revealed only 15 per cent of people would be more willing to buy products from a company that opposes the Government’s policy of reducing immigration.
The FCA insists greater diversity is needed and has pledged to “prioritise proposals that tighten expectations on firms to tackle misconduct such as bullying and sexual harassment”.
It states that “greater diversity and inclusion within the firms we regulate can deliver improved internal governance, decision-making and risk management”.
A recent cross-party report, Sexism in the City, said it is “shocking to hear how prevalent sexual harassment and bullying, up to and including serious sexual assault and rape, still are in financial services, and how poorly firms handle allegations of such behaviours”. Only 12 per cent of people thought banks should be allowed to “stop doing business with someone because of their lawfully expressed opinions or political views”.
Nearly six out of 10 did not support so-called “de-banking”. Lara Brown, senior research fellow at Policy Exchange, said the study demonstrated “the public strongly believes businesses should prioritise meritocracy and strong customer service over contested political stances”. She added: “Customers do not believe businesses need to demonstrate commitment to progressive principles and do not make spending decisions based on the political statements of retailers.”