May woos business with new body to talk Brexit, industry

Bloomberg

UK Prime Minister Theresa May will launch a new business advisory group on Thursday, her office said, as her government tries to build bridges with financial and trade bodies during Brexit negotiations.
May will chair the first in a regular series of meetings of the business council in her official Downing Street residence, with discussions due to focus on the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, and wider economic issues such as the government’s industrial strategy.
The forum aims to give business a direct link to May and her senior team running the government’s Brexit strategy, her office said in an emailed statement. Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, Business Secretary Greg Clark, and junior Brexit minister Robin Walker, will join Thursday’s meeting, along with business figures Ralf Speth from Jaguar Land Rover, Tesco’s Dave Lewis and Prudential’s Paul Manduca.
Stephen Martin from the Institute of Directors, Carolyn Fairbairn, from the Confederation of British Industry, and Mike Cherry from the Federation of Small Businesses will also be among the guests, May’s office said. The prime minister is looking for allies as she seeks to reassert her authority over her weakened minority Tory government, while at the same time pushing for a good Brexit deal in Brussels.
On Tuesday, May read the rule book to her most senior ministers after days of poisonous briefings and counter-briefings to the media by supporters of rival candidates to replace her.