Starmer sets out vision for growth with plan to rip up red tape

Sir Keir Starmer said delivering economic growth would allow families to have more holidays and fund improved public services.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks during the international investment summit in London (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

Sir Keir Starmer said boosting economic growth would help tackle the rise of populism by repairing public services and putting cash in people’s pockets as efforts to woo global investors netted deals worth £63 billion.

The Prime Minister rolled out the red carpet for chief executives, promising to rip up regulation to get projects off the ground if they put funding into the UK.

“We live in an age where political fires rage across the world. Conflict, insecurity, a populist mood that rails against the open values so many of us hold dear,” he said.

But at the same time it was “an age of great possibility” with a “huge revolution in digital technology, in clean energy, medicine, life sciences, each with a competitive potential to fundamentally change the way we live and the way that we work”.

“Each with the possibility to transform the lives of working people for the better,” he said.

That meant economic growth was “vital if we’re to steer our way through a great period of insecurity and change and on to calmer water”.

“When every community enjoys the fruits of wealth creation, it stops a country turning in on itself and  against the world”.

Deals which the Government said would create 38,000 jobs were confirmed at the summit, although some had previously been announced, with the Government even deploying the King to help encourage investment.

The summit, at the Guildhall in the City of London, was compered by Bridgerton star Adjoa Andoh, with guests invited to an exclusive reception at St Paul’s Cathedral, attended by the King and featuring a performance from Sir Elton John and food from Michelin-starred Clare Smyth.

The Prime Minister said the Government would “run towards the fire to put it out” as he vowed to “quickly” stabilise the economy.

After a bruising few weeks of headlines dominated by turmoil in Number 10 and a row over freebies given to Cabinet ministers, he promised to “think in years” rather than “the days or hours of the news grid”.

In his keynote speech he said: “We’ve got our problems, of course we have. As I’ve said, our public services need urgent care, our public finances need the tough love of prudence – challenges we can’t ignore.

“Because we know, just as every leader here knows, that those early weeks and months are precious, and no matter how many people advise you to ignore it, that you must run towards the fire to put it out, not let it spread further.”

With Rachel Reeves’ first Budget on October 30 and the prospect of tax rises to help repair the public finances, Sir Keir stressed the importance of growth in providing extra cash for the Government.

It marks a change in tone after the Government had faced criticism for being too gloomy about the state of the economy and public finances.

The Prime Minister said growth was “the only way to deliver the mandate for change we won” at the general election.

“Growth is higher wages. Growth is a more vibrant high street. Growth is public services back on their feet, it’s less poverty, more opportunity, more meals out, more holidays, more precious moments with your family, more cash in your pocket.

“And, of course, for any business it means a bigger market, higher demand, a more secure and prosperous future.”

Sir Keir said it is “time to upgrade the regulatory regime” as he pledged to “rip up” bureaucracy holding back investment.

He said the Government will “make sure that every regulator” in the country takes growth “as seriously” as businesses.

The build-up to the summit was overshadowed by a £1 billion investment by P&O Ferries owner DP World being put in jeopardy following Transport Secretary Louise Haigh’s suggestion consumers should boycott the ferry company following the fire-and-rehire scandal.

But on Monday the firm confirmed its plan to expand the London Gateway container port.

Other investments announced on Monday included:

– £1.1 billion by Manchester Airports Group to expand Stansted.

– £6.3 billion investments in data centres by CyrusOne, ServiceNow, CloudHQ and CoreWeave.

– Ports operator ABP has committed more than £200 million to a joint investment with Stena Line for a new freight terminal at Immingham.

– Imperial College London announced a £150 million investment for a new research and development campus.

– Confirmation of £24 billion of clean energy investments signalled last week in the build-up to the summit.

Sir Keir said it was “a great moment to back Britain”.

But the challenges facing Sir Keir were underlined by former Google boss Eric Schmidt during a panel discussion with the Prime Minister.

“I was shocked when Labour became strongly in favour of growth,” he said.

He warned the Prime Minister that problems with the planning regime and regulation were “killing you”.

“The cost of capital and the delay is killing you, and furthermore you’re not going to achieve your 2030 energy goal, which is laudable, without fixing this,” he said.

“You have a tactical leadership problem to achieve this and I think you can pull it off, but you have to figure out a way to get control.”

The Prime Minister replied: “I think this is a really big challenge, it has to be a cross-Government priority, not just within the Treasury team.”

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the ex-Google boss was “absolutely fair”.

He told reporters: “I think the point about our present system is it doesn’t give anyone at present what I think they want.”

He said the system “allows a sort of endless process of having the same argument”.

He added: “When you look at some of these big infrastructure projects, and there’s many we could cite as either never happening or happening after a long period of time, I think it’s always been a problem in the last few years.”