Labour would host an annual business summit in a bid to showcase Britain as a global investment destination, if elected into power, Jonathan Reynolds has pledged.
The party’s shadow business and trade secretary committed the party to the yearly event as hundreds of CEOs prepared to gather at its sold-out Business Conference later this week.
Reynolds vowed: “A future Labour government will work with wealth creators to ensure our economy is growing again, with good jobs and opportunities in every part of our country.
“It’s clear business wants to hear from Labour, and we want to work with business in government to ensure this partnership delivers money and opportunity is flowing into Britain.”
FTSE 100 executives, investors and ambassadors will gather at the sold-out summit on Thursday, which will reportedly see Labour’s approach to the Square Mile unveiled.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told City A.M. in an interview last year that the City of London was a “force for good” and that improving relations with business was a “matter of personal pride” for him.
Starmer, shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves and Reynolds will be among those showcasing the party’s offerings, following two key reviews of the industry.
In December, shadow City minister Tulip Siddiq announced a panel of top finance grandees had been convened – including London Stock Exchange Group chief David Schwimmer – to guide policy planning around areas such as financial regulation and buy now, pay later.
A further review into small businesses has been led by former Tory advisor Iain Anderson, who quit the Conservative party last year, with Reynolds set to unveil its contents.
Labour says the event will be its largest-ever gathering of international, national and regional business leaders including from Google, Shell, AstraZenaca, Airbus, and Goldman Sachs.
Tickets sold out in four hours, the party added, with hundreds of would-be attendees on the waiting list for the day, which will include the main conference, round tables and a reception.
It comes as pollsters for Opinium found that half of business leaders said they would prefer a Labour government under Starmer to a Conservative one governed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
While a quarter of the business leaders who backed the Tories at the 2019 general election said they were now backing Labour, according to the Labour-commissioned survey.
Researchers quizzed 500 business bosses and top decision-makers across major firms and SMEs of every size and found 25 per cent of previous Tory voters now wanted a Labour win.
“Labour is proud that businesses, investors, and workers alike can have faith in Labour’s plans to turn our economy around after decades of Conservative malaise,” Reynolds added.