‘I’ll never vote Tory again because of Brexit’ says Terry Sargeant

Thyssenkrupp Headquarters. Photograph: Tuxyso/Wikimedia Commons. - Credit: Archant

The Conservative party is failing workers and business with its focus on Brexit, the UK boss of a German industrial giant has warned.

Terry Sargeant, the UK chairman and chief executive of ThyssenKrupp, said the Tories were putting the interests of the party ahead of business.

He has joined a number of businesses who have warned that job layoffs were likely if the UK crashes out of the European Union without a deal.

Speaking to the Guardian he said: ‘It is a complete shambles. They have failed business. The Tory party aren’t making decisions for business, they are making decisions to prevent an implosion in their own party.’

The business is part of the German Industry UK group which represents more than 100 German companies, including BMW and DHL.

Commenting on the country’s view of Brexit, he said: ‘In Germany, people look at this and are aghast at what is happening. While in the UK we think about Brexit every minute of the day, in Germany, people think about it for 13 seconds before every quarter end or even trimester. We (as businesses) will make decisions based on ease of trade and attractiveness of the market environment.

‘If you make a market more difficult than it is at the moment, then what is the attraction to the investor?’

Referring to Boris Johnson’s ‘fuck business’ remark earlier this year he said: ‘I think there’s a faction in the Tory party that just don’t care about business.’

Sargeant warned the party was failing the ‘working men and women’ who would be hit hardest by Brexit and he said he could no longer vote Tory.

He said: ‘It’s not about me. I am 57 and will retire in a few years.

‘I can retire to Spain. But I am from a working-class background and it is the working man who is going to be hit hardest. This is about the future generations. I am passionate that we do what we can to stop the damage, that is why I am speaking out.’