· “We have a duty to make [Brexit] work”, Sir Keir Starmer tells Peter Kellner in private meeting with business leaders last night
· “But we need to spell out the future, beyond Brexit, if we are to regain power”
Sir Keir Starmer MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, last night addressed a private meeting of Labour Business, a business membership group affiliated to but independent of the Labour Party, in an interview with pollster and former YouGov chairman, Peter Kellner. The event was an invitation only gathering hosted by Brand Finance, the independent brand valuation consultancy, based in the City of London.
According to Labour Business Chairman, Hamish Sandison:
“We’ve been committed to holding constructive conversations with the business community since Labour Business was set up by Harold Wilson in 1972. But of all the conversations with business we’ve ever had, this is the most serious and the most important – for business and for the country.”
David Haigh, CEO of Brand Finance, commented:
“It’s a privilege to host speakers from across the political spectrum in the heart of the City of London at our members’ club Brand Exchange. The business community must be at the centre of the Brexit debate and we hope that more leaders will follow in Sir Keir’s footsteps as we work towards shedding light on Britain’s future.”
In a wide-ranging interview by Peter Kellner, Sir Keir answered questions posed by Mr Kellner and by business leaders attending the session.
Mr Kellner began by asking: “Will things get worse or can we make it work?” Sir Keir replied: “Yes, things will get worse in the short term, as impact reports show. But I don’t want to tell my kids that it’s all downhill from here. We have a duty to make [Brexit] work.”
Asked what Labour would do if presented with a final deal that didn’t meet all of their 6 tests, Sir Keir was unequivocal: “We will vote against it.”
“Our 6 tests are intended to maintain economically close ties with the EU,” he went on, “but end the political union.”
Asked what would happen if the final deal was rejected, Sir Keir argued that: “It is Parliament that should decide what happens next, it should have the power to decide the options, and this might involve a general election or a ‘People’s Vote’.”
But Sir Keir went on to say: “It is the Government’s unrealistic red lines that have let to this situation where we are no closer to understanding our future relationship with the EU than we were two years after the Referendum.” But he expressed confidence that: “As Theresa May continues to cross her own red lines – on the transition arrangements, on the divorce bill and eventually on a customs deal – there will be a majority in Parliament that will ensure that a bad deal or a no deal does not become a reality.”
Asked if a second Referendum on the final deal was an option, Sir Keir replied: “We’re not calling for it. We respect the result of the first Referendum. But we’re not ruling out a second Referendum.”
Looking to the future
The immediate future, Sir Keir predicted, will be “a week of leaks” as the warring factions of the Cabinet allow their differences to continue to spill out into the public arena. “So far,” he added, “the tensions between opposing Tory ideologies - stay close to the EU or move as far away from the EU as possible - have not been resolved. It remains to be seen whether they will be resolved.”
“In the coming months,” Sir Keir said, “October looks to be the most critical pivot on the kind of deal that we might end up voting on.”
Asked how Labour was going to win the next election, Sir Keir argued: “We need to understand why people voted Leave and Remain. Leavers voted to reject a political system that had failed them – low wages, fractured work, changed communities, politicians they didn’t trust. The Referendum morphed into ‘are the current arrangements working for you?’”
“We need to answer that question,” Sir Keir said. “Labour has to set out a positive, transformative, manifesto if it is to command the trust and support of a bitterly divided nation”.
“We win,” he added, “when we glimpse the future.”
ENDS
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Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organizations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance has offices in over 20 countries, offering services on all continents. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 5,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on over 5,000 brands, surveying more than 150,000 respondents across 38 countries and 31 industry sectors. Combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database enables Brand Finance to arm brand leaders with the data and analytics they need to enhance brand and business value.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm, leading the standardization of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
