Any government's dream
From The Rt Hon. Lord Young of Graffham and others Sir: We refer to the letter from the chairman of the Institute of Directors (Letters, 5 June). He raised two specific points worth answering. First, he denies losing any senior figures from the Institute. Over the last two years he has lost one chancellor, one president, two vicepresidents, one non-executive director and the head of the Policy Unit, none of whom has been replaced, this should give any chairman food for thought. Luckily for him, the IoD does not have any institutional shareholders.
The second point is more serious — whether the IoD has done the world of business, its talented staff and its membership at large a grave disservice by abandoning a hundred-year-old policy of standing up and being counted when the interests of enterprise and directors are threatened by government.
This issue has nothing to do with party politics. We are all aware of instances where we have irritated administrations, Conservative and Labour alike, in the pursuit of issues we see as harming businesses and the economy of the country. To argue that we will accomplish more by public acquiescence and private discussion is any government's dream.
Young of Graffham
Immediate past president
John Butcher
Immediate past chairman and former vicepresident
Tim Melville-Ross
Immediate past director general
Michael Mander
Past chairman and former vice-president Peter Morgan
Former director general
Denys Randolph
Past chairman and former vice-president London W1
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