On Wednesday 21 February, we hosted a panel discussion in the House of Lords on the subject of what a Labour Government could mean for entrepreneurs. Our Policy Researcher Derin Kocer gives the run down of what was said.
To be the party of change, Labour had to show that it was a changed party. After years of dissonance against business under its former leader, Keir Starmer’s party has embraced a new identity – the party of entrepreneurs.
At least, that was the main message shared by all of the panellists at our event in the House of Lords this week, imaginatively entitled “What Would a Labour Government Mean for Entrepreneurs?” There are few people better placed to speak on this matter than our guests on the day.
As an entrepreneur himself, Tom Adeyoola co-wrote Labour’s recent policy paper on startups, “Start-Up, Scale-Up”. Having served as a Deputy Mayor of London for Business and Chairman of Landon and Partners, Rajesh Agrawal is now a Labour candidate for Leicester East. Lulu Freemont is the Secretary of Labour Digital and a Director at Milltown Partners – a native of technology policy. Neil Ross, the chair of the panel, is the Associate Director of Policy at techUK, a membership organisation for technology businesses, who is also described by Sifted as one of the brains behind Labour thinking on technology. And to cap things off, concluding remarks were kindly provided by Seema Malhotra MP, Shadow Minister for Skills and Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Entrepreneurship.
It’s difficult to debate specific policies until Labour publishes its manifesto, of course. However, what we heard from people influencing that manifesto was all the right intentions. Mainly, it was the promise of a government that would see entrepreneurs and growing companies as an engine for growth – an engine that can deliver wealth creation, innovation, and better public services for all.
Political turmoil dominated the past decade, whether it’s the shock of Brexit or the fact that Britain changed as many Prime Ministers as Italy. Adeyoola described the upcoming election as “an opportunity to redefine Britain for the rest of the world.”
The UK’s strengths must play a central role in this: we are attracting the best and the brightest to build here; we lead Europe in science and technology; and British universities are world-beating. Britain is one of the few places in the world where inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs can act in harmony to build the future. As Agrawal said, the UK has many things we should be proud of and they will be championed by Labour.
This is a progressive, optimistic, and new message from a changed Labour Party. It’s also a message that is being heard by entrepreneurs. Previous polling we conducted with Mischon de Reya, for instance, found that entrepreneurs comfortably view Labour as the party which best understands their needs.
Unsurprisingly, Freemont revealed that many businesses were now engaging with Labour as frequently as possible. That’s a big leap forward for the party which used to hold ‘business policy’ meetings with just a few policy advisers and friendly industry faces prior to Starmer taking over as leader. Adeyoola was one of those friendly faces back then; and he is happier about the state of affairs now. Of course, looking like a government-in-waiting naturally nudges businesses to get closer to Labour.
However, the issues raised by our audience showed that the party still needs to provide clarity on a number of issues.
First, accessing talent is getting increasingly difficult for startups. The new immigration rules introduced by the current government raised the salary threshold above the median pay. Most growing companies can’t afford to pay this to recent graduates. Also, especially for novel technologies like artificial intelligence, talent is almost everything. As I argued in Passport to Progress last year, there are few brains out there in the world that can build the next big thing and every country is going after them. Finding ways to attract and retain top talent must be a priority for a Labour government given that migrants found around 40% of our fastest-growing companies.
Second, the party needs to be clear on how it will regulate emerging technologies. The European Union went in tough and early (too tough and too early, in my opinion) on AI and the Biden Administration wants to follow suit. With a smart and light approach, the UK can build the right environment for startups and compete with the rest of the world.
Last, but importantly, Labour needs to get the basics right. From housing to childcare, the cost of basics is so high that Britain’s potential remains difficult to unleash. The British government buys from international conglomerates while challenger brands in Britain fail to procure and the self-inflicted wound of Brexit is taking time to heal.
It’s by no means a coincidence that Seema Malhotra echoed Starmer’s call for “a decade of national renewal” in her concluding remarks. Building the future has never been an easy task, but, if our panellists are anything to go by, Labour is asking the right questions.
To see all of events please click here, and sign up to our newsletter here to be the first to find out about ones in the future.