Labour is the party of business. Don't take my word for it, Keir Starmer said it this afternoon. Addressing Labour's Business Conference (sponsored by Bloomberg, in a declaration of message discipline), the leader talked of a new partnership with business, creating the conditions for it to succeed and support sustainable economic growth.
His speech followed that of his shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, who promised that a Labour government would not raise corporation tax from its current level of 25 per cent, or reinstate the cap on bankers' bonuses. You may recall that Reeves harshly criticised the government's decision to ditch the cap when it was first announced.
In many ways, today's rhetoric was neither new nor special. That is because every Labour leader confidently states that his party is the 'party of business'. Want receipts? Jeremy Corbyn, the man Starmer frequently holds up (though seldom by name) as an example of how much Labour has changed under his leadership, made the claim himself back in 2017.
There are of course several important differences between then and now. First, none of the attendees at today's conference sniggered or rolled their eyes at the soundbite. Second, the room was filled with fairly high-level business representatives at £1,000 a pop. And third, Starmer's speech was covered live by the BBC and Sky News, on the basis that the bloke is likely to be the next prime minister, if the polls are vaguely accurate.
Be in no doubt, this was a classic Starmer speech: slightly mangled jokes, an emphasis on security and a clear desire to be deeply inoffensive (at one point he said that he wanted Labour to be "pro-worker and pro-business"). The two aren't preternaturally in opposition to one another, but how does that work in practice?
Labour has already rowed back from pro-worker legislation, for example, relating to those employed in the gig economy, as it seeks to blunt criticism from the Conservatives and court business leaders.
Some stray observations:
1) On the £28bn/£20bn/ refuse-to-pick-a-figure Green Prosperity Plan, one of the few major and specific spending commitments from Labour, we got slightly different answers from its big beasts.
As the BBC's chief political correspondent Henry Zeffman points out, while neither Reeves nor shadow business secretary Jonathan Reynolds was prepared to restate the £28bn figure, Starmer did, though in heavily caveated terms (second half of the parliament, subject to what the government has committed and his own fiscal rules). Perhaps we will get more clarity after the Budget in March.
2) It is far from the first time Starmer has said it, but "chaos has a cost" is quite an effective line, because it identifies a widely-held concern from floating voters about the Conservative government and associates, well, a cost with it.
3) Starmer doubled down on the centrality of planning reform to his prospective government. Expect a few awkward moments on the campaign trail and some backbench rebellions on any primary legislation.
In the comment pages, Emma Loffhagen says Gen Z would rather eat yoghurt than fight a war, and can you blame us? Fat Tony thinks London’s best place to live is obvious, but wonders whether he should keep it a secret. (He doesn't). While Homes and Property Editor Prudence Ivey suggests that buying a home with a friend or sibling could take the pressure off your love life.And finally, if Harry Redknapp isn't being interviewed through his car window, can it really be transfer deadline day? Either way, follow all the transfer news, rumours and gossip on our live blog.
