Jim O'Neill is just the latest business leader to have his fill of politics
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Version 0 of 1. Jim O’Neill’s abrupt, if hardly unexpected, resignation from Theresa May’s Treasury team is merely the latest example of how the marriage of business and politics can be a rocky affair that ends in divorce. Prime ministers and chancellors often see the attraction of inviting big hitters from the world of commerce to join their administrations. Gordon Brown made Digby Jones, the former head of the CBI, a member of his government of all the talents. Archie Norman was the boss of Asda when he was invited to apply for the safe Conservative seat of Tunbridge Wells at the 1997 election. Neither especially enjoyed the experience. It was George Osborne rather than David Cameron who wooed O’Neill away from Goldman Sachs. The diehard Manchester United fan ticked all the right boxes. He was the perfect fit to help with two of Osborne’s pet projects: the “northern powerhouse” and developing closer economic ties between Britain and China. O’Neill made his name by identifying the rise of four leading emerging market economies - Brazil, Russia, India and China - as a key feature of the global economy, giving them the title Brics. Like Osborne, he was convinced that the rise of China would be as significant as the emergence of the US as a global economic superpower in the 20th century. Both men thought Britain’s best long-term interests were served in forging close and harmonious links with Beijing. In his resignation letter to the prime minister, O’Neill said the case for the northern powerhouse and closer links with the leading emerging economies was “even stronger following the referendum, and I am pleased that, despite speculation to the contrary, both appear to be commanding your personal attention”. This is hardly a full-throated endorsement and will do little to quell speculation that O’Neill was unhappy about the review May insisted upon before agreeing to go-ahead with the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant earlier this month, and that he suspects plans are afoot to dilute the northern powerhouse project. The announcement that he has resigned the Conservative whip and will sit as a crossbench peer merely adds to the sense that he is the latest business leader to become disillusioned with Westminster politics. Much has changed in the past three months. It is not just that the Brexit vote led to Cameron’s resignation. Starting with Osborne’s brutal sacking, May has been systematically removing traces of the former regime. Her support for grammar schools irked the comprehensively educated O’Neill. Put simply, he had a choice. He could stick around in a government he felt increasingly at odds with, or go off and do something else more rewarding. Given that O’Neill cares more about José Mourinho than he does about Theresa May, the decision probably didn’t take all that long. Nor is it one he is likely to regret. |