Winning the trust of business is a major milestone in Starmer’s journey to No 10

Editorial: The election ‘pledge card’ has clear echoes with New Labour – but it is the endorsement of the CEOs of high-street brands, such as Boots, that will help seal the election for ‘changed Labour’

(Dave Brown)

Rumours swept Westminster in advance of Sir Keir Starmer’s event in Essex about another defector. Could it be Stephen Metcalfe, the MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, an unusually loyal Conservative backbencher? Or Dame Priti Patel, the MP for another Essex seat? Or Georgia Harrison, the Love Island star and women’s rights campaigner, who comes from Essex?

It was none of those – but Labour did win a surprise endorsement, delivered by video link, that was possibly more significant. Seb James, the managing director of Boots, appeared on a screen at the launch of Labour’s election pledge card, to praise Sir Keir’s emphasis on economic growth that will “put more money in people’s pockets”.

This is important symbolically, not least because James is an old friend of David Cameron’s (the pair were at Eton together and were fellow members of the Bullingdon Club at Oxford University). But it is also a defection of substance. Boots is a high-street brand that has to be careful about embroiling itself in politics. It speaks volumes about the steadiness, competence and respectability of Sir Keir and his shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, that the chief executive of such a well-known chain is happy to associate himself with them.