Keir Starmer speech to Labour business conference launching ‘Start-Up, Scale Up’ review

Speech to Labour business conference launching results of ‘Start-Up, Scale Up’ review

Thank you, Amanda, and thank you to all those who have kindly sponsored today’s event.

It’s fantastic to see so many of you here today.

If ever I needed evidence that this party has changed, it’s looking out at this audience this morning.

This is our biggest ever business conference and that doesn’t include those hundred people still on the waiting list.

We’ve got business representatives from all over the country, more than 350 people.

Or, to put it another way, about a month’s worth of Conservative ministers.

I’m so glad to be here today at a time when so much is happening.

On Monday, I set out Labour’s plans to oversee the greatest shake up of power in our history out of Westminster and into the country.

That comes from a simple belief:

That for too long in this country we’ve had our body language all wrong.

We’ve been turning inwards when we should have been striding forwards.

I’ll tell you this, the next Labour government will set Britain’s sights:

Higher, by raising standards in public life and restoring trust in politics.

Wider, by spreading power and opportunity across the country.

And better, by growing our economy in a way that works for everyone.

We’re going to be the first ever government to win power in order to give it away.

Or, more accurately, to put it where it’s going to be most effective.

But why?

It’s simple.

Because I don’t believe you simply rebuild a country and an economy from Whitehall.

And I don’t believe individual businesses can do it on their own either.

I believe that, to drive Britain forwards, we need a partnership.

And I’m here to say that Labour is ready.

Ready to partner with you.

Because we’re not just a pro-business party, we’re a party that is proud of being pro-business. 

Make no mistake, this is a matter of conviction for me and I’ve united our party behind it. 

I’m not here today to waste too many words on the Tories.

No one in this room needs reminding of the mess they’ve made.

But the reason the last decade has felt so chaotic is because of their failure to seize the opportunities our country has.

Their short-termism, their sticking plaster politics, is holding us back.

What I’m focused on is how Labour can remedy that historic wrong.

Because it’s going to be our job to tackle the long-term challenges, to give Britain a new ‘business model’.

So, let me set out my three priorities:

One – green growth.

Growth and net-zero don’t just complement each other, they’re inseparable.  

Climate change is the defining challenge of our times.

But it’s also the biggest opportunity we’ve had in a generation to make our economy work for working people.

That’s what our Green Prosperity Plan is all about.

Fair growth powered by clean, British energy.

We know it won’t be easy.

We know it means political battles.

But we’re ready to take them on, and we’ll need your support. 

We believe in public investment – and we will provide it. 

But we know the real game-changer is private investment. 

That’s why we’re going to set up a National Sovereign Wealth Fund.

Manage the risk on the key investments Britain needs, but also use that fund to generate opportunities for businesses and supply chains in every community. 

Priority number two – skills. 

If we’re going to meet our ambitions, we need to get real on skills. 

It’s why we’ve put training at the heart of our Green Prosperity Plan.

But it’s also why we’ll reform the way government helps businesses to get the skills they need. 

Apprenticeship support is not flexible enough so we’ll give you more power over what your levy money can buy.

Support for high quality apprenticeships and the training courses that work for you. 

But look – I know for many businesses right now, talk about investment or growth is not where your head is.

That’s why priority number three is in many ways the most important - stability. 

Because if we’ve learnt nothing else these past 12 years, it’s that chaos has a cost.

And I know many businesses are counting that cost right now. 

Borrowing costs are higher.

Energy prices rising.

Taxes constantly changing.

Margins are tighter.

And then there’s the labour market.

No mistake: times are tough. 

More small businesses are going under now than at any time since records began, every one a personal tragedy.

But – and it’s an important but - the principle that policy choices must be paid for.

That sound money in our public finances must come first cannot be undermined. 

It’s the foundation for economic stability. 

And my Labour Government will never risk that. 

And we also understand that stability is about more than the public finances. 

It’s about providing the right conditions to plan and invest.

To think about long-term strategy, not short-term fixes.

To create confidence through certainty. 

That’s why we believe in an industrial strategy. 

This isn’t ideological, it’s not about the size of the state.

It’s about what it can do.

And we believe government can support business to innovate and grow.

Can bring in the creative genius of our scientists and universities.

Can unite us to tackle the country’s challenges on behalf of working people.

That’s what our partnership must deliver.  

A partnership for prosperity - that’s what my Labour Party stands for. 

And that partnership is about every different type of business, including the ones that don’t yet exist.

One of the first things our fantastic shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, did in her role was to set up a review into how we can back more start-ups in this country.

Because we won’t have a world-leading economy of the future if we don’t back the world-leading businesses of the future.

Now, I’d love to be able to tell you Rachel is going to be the next Chancellor of this country, but who knows how many more the Tories will have burnt through by then.

Instead, what I can say, is that Rachel will be the Chancellor who works alongside me to create a country where working people succeed, where aspiration is rewarded, where businesses flourish.

A Britain with its confidence, its hope and its future – back. 

But it won’t just be me and Rachel.

It won’t just be the shadow cabinet.

It won’t just be a Labour government.

It will be everyone in this room.

So, enjoy this fantastic event.

Share your ideas and your plans and your challenges.

Keep in contact with us.

Because we are building something special here, and we need you to be part of it.

Thank you.