Keir Starmer speech to Times CEO summit

Thank you.

It’s a pleasure to be here today to talk about Labour’s economic plans, and it’s good to see so many faces I’ve met over the past year or so, as we’ve been discussing the direction we should take.

And look – on a day like this, I’m not going to beat around the bush. In less than an hour, just across the river, the Bank of England will take a decision that will underline – with emphasis – the reality of where we stand as a nation.

And also, the fact we now live in a new economic era. To an extent, this is indisputable.

You don’t put 4 percent on the base rate in less than eighteen months without something fundamental changing in our economy, but as far as I’m concerned, this isn’t just the latest short-run problem.

It’s actually bigger than an unwinding of the pandemic or the reaction to the war in Ukraine. Although, both those events are testament to the more volatile world we now live in. 

Climate change and the search for energy security are a recipe for global instability. Revolutions in technology – and of course the search for the materials needed to take advantage of them – complicate matters even further.

The balance of power in the world is changing, and all this means we’ve got to rethink our assumptions. On labour, on energy, on trade and investment. Old rules no longer apply.

Now, of course, the nature of this means there are deep and difficult questions for all nations, and Britain does have tremendous advantages. Our universities, our service exports, excellence in life sciences, finance, tech and the creative industries.

But make no mistake – we are not well prepared to deal with a new age of insecurity. Our foundations are weak. You can’t argue with this. We’ve seen thirteen years of flat-lining wages for working people – that’s unprecedented.

A threat – confirmed yesterday – of stagflation. And even, with the chaos in Westminster, the erosion of our traditional virtues. Our stability and standing – our global standing.

I went to Davos earlier this year, and everywhere I went I had a variant of the same conversation. “So you’ve had three Prime Ministers in a year, four Chancellors in four months, that’s great political comedy. But seriously - we don’t see you as a stable investment anymore.”

This a very real problem – nobody owes us a future. Our global standing is precious, and every day, I wake up and think about what we can do to get it back.

When the big questions are asked, around conference tables all round the world. “Where does our money go”, “Where do our jobs go”, “Where does our investment in a better future go”.

We have to make sure the answer that comes back is a resounding. Why not Britain.

That’s where partnership comes in, because if we all pull together, if we square-up to the urgency of this moment, then yes - we can deliver the security and growth our country needs.

That’s why back in February we announced an ambitious national mission for our economy, to deliver the fastest sustained growth in the G7, by the end of the next Parliament. And look – we did it with our eyes wide open. We anticipated these headwinds.

Knew – and I’m sorry to be partisan – all about the financial wreckage of the past thirteen years. The long-run structural issues we’ll have to take on. Nonetheless, ambition is the right course. We choose it precisely because it is difficult.

Precisely because, we must make new demands of every partner in the business of British growth. Now, so far as I’m concerned - partnership isn’t a few cosy chats in Whitehall, where we get round the table, drink some mediocre coffee and make the same points over and over again.

It’s a shared undertaking , where we each commit to a common cause. Shake-off the inertia of our individual comfort zones, and work together in pursuit of the national interest.

It’s politicians prepared to challenge the vested interests of their own party. It’s Whitehall working for the bigger picture, not their own bureaucratic turf.

And its businesses that - if we remove the barriers, if we provide the certainty - set out a clear direction. Step up - with the investments we need to move our country forward.

So – in that spirit, I want to set out three new principles for this new world. And then one that remains unchanged and absolutely fundamental.

One – industrial strategy is now the bread and butter of economic stability. Yes, stability still requires policies that are always fully costed. Fiscal rules that are sound and followed rigorously. Constraints – respected not bypassed.

But when the winds of change blow this fiercely, you also need a government that gets involved, that takes active, strategic decisions, provides a clear framework for investors that holds for the long-term, and in doing so – replaces the chaos of drift, with the dynamism of leadership.

Two – no longer can we leave it only to the market to decide which sectors of the economy matter. That doesn’t always work for working people – we know that. But just as important, it can’t cope with a world where other countries are prepared to weaponise key supply chains.

That’s the crucial lesson of the last twelve months. Our energy system is the perfect example – but there will be others. We’ve now got to be bold in pursuit of economic security. Make investments – like in clean energy – that can deliver growth and cheaper bills to drive inflation down.

We need new institutions - like our National Wealth Fund. New incentives – like our British Jobs Bonus. A new architecture of partnership. That will crowd-in private investment – that’s absolutely critical. 

And where – working together – we keep up with the ferocious pace our competitors are setting on the jobs of the future.

Three – we’ve got to take a long, hard look at our labour market, and then we’ve got to ask ourselves, is this really the best path to higher productivity.

Let me give you an example – technology. Britain has fewer industrial robots than almost every comparable country. We’re behind Germany, France, Spain, Slovenia, Slovakia, Belgium – it’s a long list. And in terms of competition over the long-run, one that borders on a disaster.

Now, I know many businesses here get this. But when we look at the economy as a whole, it can seem like we’re more comfortable hiring people to work in low paid, insecure, sometimes exploitative contracts than we are investing in the new technology that delivers for workers, productivity and our country.

It’s the same story on skills. As we’ve said – the apprenticeship levy is too narrow - it doesn’t incentivise the full breadth of skills you need. But you do also have to ask if we – politics and business - are sometimes reaching too readily for the quick fix of migration rather than a clear national plan for the skills we need and the long-term investment that can deliver. 

Finally – the fundamental principle that remains unchanged. That is – restarting the engine of growth, depends upon expanding the supply-side capacity of the economy. There are a number of things we can do on this.

On public services – of course. Seven million on waiting lists - that’s absolutely a supply-side problem. On trade too - there are frictions we can iron out with our European partners that will help us with growth.

But at a more basic level, we’ve also just got to roll up our sleeves and start building things.

Seriously, I’m not going to accept a situation where it takes thirteen years to build an offshore wind-farm. I’m not going to let slow connections to the National Grid hold back £200bn worth of projects. And I’m not going to defend a planning system which is locking an entire generation out of the security home ownership provides.

No – we’re going to take this on. It’s at the heart of everything. And it shows our determination to fix the fundamentals that make British inflation stickier, global shocks more painful, weigh down on your profits and the living standards of our people.

That’s the partnership we offer. A new plan for a new settlement. For renewal not decline. The future not the past. The builders not the blockers.

Thank you.