By Jorn Madslien Business reporter, BBC News, CBI Conference

Blair pledged to chop down on business red tape

British business has been calling for a government clamp-down on red tape for so long that it came as a shock when Tony Blair vowed to deliver.

Taking the stage at the CBI conference for the last time as prime minister, Mr Blair wasted no time laying out plans to slash business bureaucracy.

Not only will he launch a review to ensure the UK remains tax competitive.

In addition, Mr Blair plans to order every government department to cut regulation by 25%.

"This is for real," he said.

"Unless we actually set a challenging target, it is unlikely to happen."

Business leaders at the CBI conference were clearly impressed, and not only with Mr Blair's quips, which frequently prompted applause and laughter.

During a half-hour questions and answers session, Mr Blair dealt with probing questions from the audience on a range of topics from ethnic minority entrepreneurs to global trade, from the skills shortage to energy security.

And he pointed out that in one key area, the CBI and the government see eye to eye: Britain should strive towards an increasingly open economy to facilitate trade and investment.

Yet, CBI members are notoriously hard to please.

"As far as Prime Ministers goes, he's alright," said one, while another said that "given the short time he has left, I doubt whether cutting red tape will be high on his agenda".

Defensive opponents

In spite of such muted responses from some business executives, Mr Blair's confident performance stood out in sharp contrast to that of Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, who had addressed the conference earlier.

Where Mr Blair's promised to make life easier for business, Mr Osborne started his speech firmly on the back foot and spent much of the rest defending his party's policies.

Investment in renewable energy is "not anti-business", nor is the promotion of forest stewardship, Mr Osborne insisted, adding that "flexible, family-friendly employment practices" were "not a burden but a boost" to productivity and performance.

George Osborne insists the Tories are not anti-business

"I make absolutely no apology that we have been talking about the new business agenda," Mr Osborne said.

Many in the audience remained distinctly unimpressed, yet this was not entirely Mr Osborne's fault.

When asked whether the Tories were more business friendly than Labour, one businessman barked, with reference to David Cameron's last-minute decision to cancel his CBI speech and go to Iraq instead: "It's hard to say. He didn't bother to turn up."

Threat or opportunity

Beyond the political battle for the hearts and minds of Britain's business leaders, globalisation was at the heart of the conference.

The key underlying question was whether emerging economies, notably India and China, pose a threat to or offer an opportunity for British business.

"This is the background against which any discussion has to take place," observed Mr Blair.

"We see, for the first time, true globalisation... in terms of a shift of economic power from the West to the East," observed Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of the advertising giant WPP.

CBI delegates said UK businesses were not ready for globalisation

As such, globalisation could be perceived as a threat, yet Sir Martin stressed that it should instead be seen as "something we must capitalise on".

"Both China and India are fundamental to the growth and prosperity of any multinational company."

"This is fundamentally an opportunity rather than a cause for pessimism," summed up Stephen Green, group chairman at the HSBC bank.

But not everyone agreed.

During the conference, business leaders were asked to express their views on India and China by taking part in an electronic vote.

The results revealed that 26% of the respondents view India as a competitive threat, with 61% viewing China as such a threat.