Theresa May will pledge to slash corporation tax to lower than the US

Theresa May attempted to woo Britain's bosses with the promise of tax cuts and a new Government approach to business: "Stepping up, not stepping back."

In her first speech to a CBI conference, she promised £2bn of investment in science and research and tax breaks for innovators in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement.

She (Munich: SOQ.MU - news) also announced that the Treasury is to launch a review into the scope for further cuts in corporation tax post-Brexit and for increasing tax credits for research and development.

In a speech which contrasted with some of her earlier attacks on big business, she said: "We believe in business - the entrepreneurs and the innovators who employ millions of people up and down this country."

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And in a bold pledge, the PM also suggested that the Tories would cut corporation tax even lower than the 15% promised by Donald Trump in his US presidential election campaign.

She said: "We will also review the support we give innovative firms through the tax system... because my aim is not simply for the UK to have the lowest corporate tax rate in the G20, but also one that is profoundly pro-innovation."

But only hours after the PM's speech, Jeremy Corbyn will tell the CBI a Labour government would aim to re-create Harold Wilson's "white heat of technology" of the 1960s.

The PM faces calls from the leadership of the strongly pro-EU CBI for a "smooth Brexit", with the UK remaining in the single market to avoid businesses falling off a "cliff edge".

In her speech, Mrs May promised an ambitious modern industrial strategy, with a new way of thinking for government and new approach.

"It is about government stepping up, not stepping back, building on our strengths, and helping Britain overcome the long-standing challenges in our economy that have held us back for too long," she said.

"It is about making the most of the historic opportunity we now have to signal an important, determined change.

"It is not about propping up failing industries or picking winners, but creating the conditions where winners can emerge and grow.

"It is about backing those winners all the way, to encourage them to invest in the long-term future of Britain. And about delivering jobs and economic growth to every community and corner of the country."

After her attacks on Mike Ashley and Sir Philip Green in her Tory conference speech, she also urged the CBI to help restore the reputation of business, which she said had been damaged by a small minority.

But in an apparent cooling on her plans for workers and consumers on company boards, which horrify many bosses, she said: "This will be a genuine consultation - we want to work with the grain of business and to draw from what works. But it will also be a consultation that will deliver results."

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In his speech, Mr Corbyn will also promise intervention from Labour, as well warning of the threat to the future growth and prosperity of the UK from a "mishandled, chaotic Brexit".

And he will say: "In 1963, Harold Wilson famously said if the country was to prosper, a 'New Britain' would need to be forged in the white heat of a scientific revolution."

The Labour leader, who this year revealed he has been reading Wilson (Oslo: WILS.OL - news) 's memoirs, is referring to the "white heat of technology" speech at the 1963 Labour conference, shortly before he became prime minister.

"More than 50 years later, we now face the task of creating a New Britain not just out of Brexit and a new relationship with Europe but from the challenge of the fourth industrial revolution - powered by the internet of things and big data to develop cyber physical systems and smart factories," Mr Corbyn will say.

"Labour wants to engage with business and the workforce at all levels to design an industrial strategy that meets the needs of 21st century Britain."

And echoing the Prime Minister almost word for word, he will add: "That isn't about picking winners, or pouring good money after bad into white-elephants.

"Instead we will set the missions, put in place the right institutional framework and support and provide businesses with the opportunities to develop our economy.

"Provided of course, that businesses live up to their side of the deal - on wages, on workers' rights, on paying taxes. We want our relationship with business to be a partnership: Labour's new settlement for business."

The CBI conference will open with a call from its president, Paul Drechsler, for the Government to come forward with clearer plans for Brexit to avoid further uncertainty and damage to the economy.

"Today, businesses are inevitably considering the cliff-edge scenario - a sudden and overnight transformation in trading conditions," he will tell the Prime Minister.

:: Full coverage of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement on Sky News on Wednesday from 10am