Starmer to pitch UK as ‘stable place to do business’ at October trade summit

Ministers are expected to pitch Britain as a “stable place to do business” as they court global investors at a UK-based summit two weeks ahead of the autumn Budget.

Sir Keir Starmer will host up to 300 industry leaders at the event on October 14, which Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will also attend.

The International Investment Summit is seen by the Government as a milestone in its central mission to boost economic growth.

Labour promised during the general election campaign to hold such an event within 100 days if it came to power.

Investors will hear from the Prime Minister, Ms Reeves and Mr Reynolds that the UK is “open for business”, the Department for Business and Trade said.

They will seek to persuade business leaders that a “level-headed approach” on the world stage ushered in by the Labour Government shows that Britain is a “mature” trading partner.

It follows two other major international gatherings – the Nato summit in the US and the European Political Community event hosted in the UK – at which Sir Keir had an opportunity to flex his diplomatic muscles early in his premiership.

Treasury analysis suggests that had the UK economy grown at the average rate of other OECD economies over the last 13 years, it would have been more than £140 billion larger.

Ms Reeves said: “Growth built on stability, investment and reform is our number one priority and we have moved at speed to fix the foundations of our economy.

“In just one month we have launched a National Wealth Fund to catalyse investment in our world-leading green and growth industries, ended the ill-advised ban on onshore wind and reformed a planning system that has frustrated investors for so long.

“We are not resting on our laurels as work continues to rebuild Britain. October’s International Investment Summit will showcase Britain is back as a stable place to do business, helping to secure the private investment needed to make every part of our country better off.”

Business and Trade Secretary Mr Reynolds said the gathering would be “an opportunity to meaningfully engage with the world’s leading businesses and investors, and to continue to build long-term relationships that will drive investment into the UK in the months and years ahead”.

“The chaos of the last 14 years is no more. Britain is open for business, and we are the investment destination of choice,” he said.

Shadow business secretary Kevin Hollinrake said the former Tory government had “left Labour with the fastest growing economy in the G7″ and inflation at the Bank of England’s target of 2%.

“Thanks to the action the Conservatives took in government, the UK had the third highest level of foreign direct investment in the world over the past three years behind only the US and China, we seized the benefits of Brexit by becoming the first European country to join the CPTPP, and there over one million more businesses than in 2010,” he said.

“The new Government must not reverse that progress with new tax rises and increased business regulation that will stifle the economy.”