Britain will champion a free market that works for all, claims PM

Addressing the influential World Economic Forum in Davos, Theresa May sought to make it clear that Britain will remain “open for business” despite concerns about the impact of the country’s withdrawal from the Single Market.

But she also repeated warnings that a decline in living standards is fuelling widespread distrust of the current global economic model, and called for a “new approach” to trade that encourages greater social responsibility and better distribution of wealth.

She argued it is crucial for governments and businesses to demonstrate that “everyone is playing by the same rules”, in order for a globalisation and free trade to retain public support.

The speech to the annual conference in Switzerland came as European leaders continued to weigh in on the Prime Minister’s Brexit red lines, after she set out her 12 negotiating priorities on Tuesday.

The Dutch premier Mark Rutte today warned that the UK will pay a “huge price” for its decision to prioritise immigration controls over Single Market membership, adding that it will have “a consequence for the rest of Europe”.

It also came as International Trade Secretary Liam Fox announced that informal trade negotiations are underway with 12 countries across the world, including China, India, Australia and Saudia Arabia.

Writing in the Telegraph, he said British officials are conducting trade audits with these countries “to see how we can remove barriers to trade and investment”.

Addressing an audience of some of the world’s most influential economists and business leaders, Mrs May acknowledged that the process of forging new trade ties will be “tough” and will at times bring some uncertainty.

But she emphasised her determination to secure a “bold and ambitious” free trade agreement with the EU, while making the most of the UK’s freedom to strike deals with “old friends and new allies” around the world.

She also spoke of the Government’s long-awaited industrial strategy, which she said will address “long-standing” weakness in the economy in order to deliver “jobs and... growth to every community and corner of the country”.

She argued this was “essential” to promoting the benefits of free trade, and to guaranteeing that globalisation can “work for everyone”.

“Businesses large and small are the backbone of our economies, and enterprise is the engine of our prosperity. That is why Britain is – and will always be – open for business,” she said.

“But, at the same time as promoting this openness, we must heed the underlying feeling that there are some companies, particularly those with a global reach, who are playing by a different set of rules to ordinary, working people.

“I have no doubt at all about the vital role business plays – not just in the economic life of a nation, but in society too.

“But to respond to that sense of anxiety people feel, I believe we – business and government working together –need to do even more to make the case.”

It is understood that the speech was generally well-received by attendees, with the UK Chairman of KPMG Simon Collins said it would “go some way to assuage the nerves of CEOs” concerned by a rise in protectionism.

But the Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron accused Mrs May of having a “brass neck”. He said: “She goes to Davos to lecture businesses about looking after the little guy yet she threatens to turn the UK into a Europe’s biggest tax haven.”