Sir Keir Starmer will pledge today to scrap regulation that holds back company investment, as the UK welcomes major business leaders and investors to the new government’s first international investment summit.
Today’s summit will see Labour pitching the UK as a place where economic stability has been restored, creating the right conditions for growth and investment.
Starmer will address CEOs and investors at London’s Guildhall this morning, and vow to do “everything in my power to galvanise growth”. He’ll pledge to end the “chop and change” that has riddled Britain in recent years, deterring investment.
On the issue of regulation, the PM is expected to vow to look at rules that “needlessly” hold back the investment the UK needs, by saying: “Where it is stopping us building the homes, the datacentres, warehouses, grid connectors, roads, trainlines, you name it then mark my words – we will get rid of it.
“We will rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment and we will make sure that every regulator in this country take growth as seriously as this room does.”
One person’s needless red tape is another’s vital standards, though, and there are fears that cutting regulation could be unsafe. One union source has likened Starmer’s words to former PM David Cameron’s “bonfire of red tape”, telling us: “The coalition also had a massive shake-up of red tape, and ended up taking out loads of safety regulations.”
About 200 senior executives are signed up for the summit, as well as a string of cabinet ministers, including Starmer and his chancellor, Rachel Reeves.
The government argues that securing new investment from major companies will help it deliver economic growth, create jobs, lift living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off. It says ministers are set to unveil billions worth of major investment deals in AI, life sciences and infrastructure.
According to the FT, Starmer will unveil commitments from the private sector to invest more than £50bn into the economy. Last week, the leaders of the world’s biggest green energy companies got the ball rolling by pledging more than £24bn of new private investment.
The build-up to the summit was marred, though, by the row with Dubai-based ports company DP World, after Louise Haigh, transport secretary, called its P&O Ferries division a “rogue operator” due to its sacking of 800 employees without notice in 2022.
The government rowed back, after DP World threatened to pause a £1bn investment in its London Gateway port, with the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, and Starmer placating the company, so the company’s executives should now be attending.
After Starmer gives his speech, he’ll hold a conversation with the former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, “moderated” by Emma Walmsley, the chief executive of pharmaceutical firm GSK. Other panels will involve the chief investment officer of Google owner Alphabet, the chair of investment firm BlackRock, Larry Fink, and Amanda Blanc, the boss of insurance group Aviva.
The agenda
• 10am BST: UK international investment summit opens
• 10.05am BST: Starmer gives keynote speech, followed by “conversation” with former CEO and chair of Google Eric Schmidt.
• 11am BST: Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel awarded
• 4.20pm BST: Rachel Reeves gives closing speech at summit
• Evening: King Charles III attends investment summit reception at St Paul’s Cathedral.
We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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