Top UK politician swings weight behind family businesses

Family businesses are crucial for the recovery of the UK economy and provide the backbone of the right type of growth needed for the country, according to Vince Cable, secretary of state for business, innovation and skills in the coalition government.

Cable, speaking at an event hosted by the Institute for Family Business at the Houses of Parliament, reckons that family businesses have the wherewithal to be the backbone of what he called “responsible capitalism”.

“Their (family businesses) emphasis on long-term planning needs to be encouraged,” he said.

He added: “The government is firmly on the side of enterprising family businesses and enterprise more generally.”

Cable has been an outspoken critic of the bonus culture in the City of London and the soaring salaries for senior managers at the UK’s top companies.

His comments come after new research by the IFB highlighted the importance of family businesses in the UK economy.

Headline findings included that family businesses account for as much as two-thirds of firms in the UK private sector and employ 40% of private sector jobs.