What business most wants to see from the new Labour Government, revealed in a survey published this week, should provide much food for thought for those who say Brexit is done.

That said, thoughtfulness and reflection have appeared to be in very short supply indeed among arch-Brexiters.

The survey of 502 UK business leaders, undertaken by Censuswide on behalf of specialist research and development tax adviser ForrestBrown, showed the policy commitment from Labour that would be most valued by respondents is “making the UK’s relationship with the EU work better for business”.

The proportion of business leaders flagging this as the key policy commitment they want most from the new Government is 22%. This is significantly ahead of the policies in joint-second place in the most-valued policy commitments league table generated by the survey responses: “stability and certainty in taxation”, and “reforming business rates with a new system of business property taxation”, each flagged by 16% of business leaders.

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​Next, each with 13%, are “increasing investment in clean energy”, and “workforce development e.g. working conditions, youth unemployment”.

Then come “addressing the skills shortage by reforming the immigration points system”, highlighted by 9% of respondents, and “addressing the UK's ageing infrastructure”, flagged by 7%.

Skills shortages are, it is worth noting, in no small part the result of the UK’s hard Brexit.

All of the matters on the wish list communicated........

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