Keir Starmer will promise to cut red tape and “rip out the red tape that blocks investment” as he hosts hundreds of global business leaders for a major summit in central London.
After a turbulent run-up to the event, including a row with the Dubai-based owner of P&O Ferries, the Prime Minister will urge the world’s biggest companies to invest in Britain, promising them stable policies and low regulation as an incentive to do so.
Starmer will say in his keynote address on Monday: “We need to look at regulation where it is unnecessarily holding back investment to move our country forward.
“Where it prevents us from building the housing, the data centers, the warehouses, the grid connections, the roads, the train lines, mark my words – we will get rid of it. We will tear out the bureaucracy that blocks investment and we will make sure that every regulator in this country takes growth as seriously as this space does.”
Some in the trade union movement expressed concern at the prospect of another deregulation push, comparing Starmer’s tone to that of his predecessor David Cameron, who swept away building safety regulations as part of a “bonfire of red tape”.
The prime minister is looking to woo foreign capital as part of the government’s drive to get the economy growing again, and has already announced trillions of pounds worth of investment from companies including Amazon and Blackstone.
Among the speakers at Monday’s summit at the Guildhall are Ruth Porat, the president of Google’s parent company Alphabet, David Ricks, chief executive of pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, and Larry Fink, chief executive of BlackRock.
Ministers have already started rolling out major changes to the planning system to encourage building, including removing a de facto ban on onshore wind farms and promising to make it easier to build on the green belt.
Starmer’s comments at the investment summit suggest the government is likely to go further.
No. 10 would not say what regulations are likely to be in scope, but officials said they wanted to review the powers of major regulators such as the Competition and Markets Authority to focus on growth as their main priority.
As well as the deregulation drive, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, will unveil a green paper outlining the government’s industrial strategy, which officials say will be focused on eight growth-driving sectors.
And as the final element of the government’s charm offensive for business, the participants will then be invited to a reception in St. Paul’s Cathedral, which is also attended by King Charles.
“We focus on investment because the growth mission, especially in this country, requires it,” says Starmer. “Private sector investment is how we rebuild our country and pay our way in the world. This is a fantastic moment to return to the UK.”
But while Starmer’s pro-business drive has already managed to attract trillions of pounds of new investment, it has also caused ructions within his own party and among unions.
Unions have warned that the industrial strategy is unlikely to make a difference if the government is unwilling to lease out companies such as Grangemouth, the Scottish oil refinery threatened with closure.
Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said on Sunday: “What is happening in Grangemouth is an act of industrial vandalism … We cannot have a situation where the state is writing blank checks to companies which then refuse to protect jobs.”
Some in the trade union movement are also worried about the prospect of another deregulation push, following similar moves under Conservative prime ministers.
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One union source liked Starmer’s words to Cameron’s “bonfire of bureaucracy”. “The coalition also had a massive shake-up of bureaucracy and ended up removing a lot of security regulations,” the source said.
Others are uneasy about the involvement in the summit of Macquarie, the investment fund that was heavily criticized for the way it ran Thames Water. The Australian investment company will announce a package of 20 billion on Monday. pounds of planned investment in the UK, including rolling out a network of fast-charging electric car infrastructure across the country.
Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, said: “The Prime Minister should use the government’s investment summit to announce an end to this major water privatization ripoff and the renationalisation of this vital public service.”
The Prime Minister is also dealing with the fallout from a devastating cabinet row over the attendance of the summit for DP World, which owns P&O Ferries.
DP World had threatened to pull out of the summit and cancel a planned investment of €1 billion. pounds after the transport secretary called the ferry company a “rogue operator”. Referring to the company’s controversial decision in 2022 to sack 800 staff without notice, Louise Haigh also said she was boycotting the company and had urged her department not to deal with it.
DP World has now confirmed it will attend the summit, but only after Starmer and the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, both publicly rejected Haigh’s comments. Allies of Haigh say she has been left feeling “left out to dry” by the row, having not been told in advance that DP World was involved in Monday’s event.
However, many business leaders say the biggest obstacle to inward investment in the UK is the prospect of tax rises in this month’s Budget. Reeves is considering a series of tax increases, including capital gains and employer pension contributions, in a bid to fix state finances.
Charlie Nunn, chief executive of Lloyds Bank, warned on Sunday against any tax increase that could hamper growth. “Anything that helps people continue to invest and take appropriate risk is really important; anything that does the opposite would be a handbrake,” he told the BBC.
He added: “Pensions and contributions to pensions are vital. We see that around 40% of people in the UK have a pension that doesn’t even give them a basic living allowance when they retire. So we need to increase take-up and investment in pensions.”