UK politics live: Keir Starmer takes swipe at Boris Johnson and Brexit chaos in vow to boost business

Keir Starmer took a side swipe at Boris Johnson’s infamous “f*** business” comment and promised to turn a page on the chaos of Brexit in his keynote speech to business leaders at the investment summit.

The prime minister acknowledged that Britain’s standing in the world has been damaged as a result of the EU referendum result in 2016 and what followed but has made a priority to fix it.

He told the audience: “We are determined to improve [Britain’s global standing]. Determined to repair Britain’s brand as an open outward looking confident trading nation.

“I see this as diplomatic necessity and I think it is clear what I priority I have given it in the first 100 days of this government all around the world.

“People want to know that Britain can be a stable trusted, rule abiding partner as we have always been.

“But somehow during the whole circus that followed Brexit the last government made a few people less sure about.

Needlessly insulting our closest allies. And of course a few choice Anglo Saxon phrases for business.

“Well no more we have turned the page on that decisively and we will use that reset for growth.”

Conservative leadership hopeful Kemi Badenoch has been accused of “stigmatising” autism after she endorsed a report that suggested people with the condition get “economic advantages and protections”.

The pamphlet, which Ms Badenoch launched, also claimed that they receive “better treatment or equipment at school”.

Sir Keir Starmer has “full confidence” in Louise Haigh, Downing Street said after the prime minister disowned his Transport secretary’s remarks about P&O Ferries.

After Ms Haigh’s comments, calling P&O a rogue operator that should be boycotted, threatened to blow up his crucial investment summit, Sir Keir distanced himself from her.

But, asked whether Sir Keir had full confidence in the minister, the PM’s official spokesman said: “Yes, absolutely. The transport secretary in the run-up to the summit delivered significant investment in electric buses.

“She’s put an end to industrial disruption seen for the past two-and-a-half years that has cost the economy and commuters dearly, and she’s been driving forward reform and bringing rail services back into public ownership.”

Addressing fears that some business leaders have expressed over Labour’s workers’ rights expansions, Sir Keir said: “Let me be clear: they’re pro-growth.”

Labour had been working to progress their workers’ rights package within the first 100 days of coming into power, recently tabling the bill. Here’s what it will change:

Some union leaders voiced concerns about Sir Keir’s deregulatory language ahead of today’s investment summit, likening his language to that of David Cameron in 2011 who launched a “Red Tape Challenge”.

“The coalition also had a massive shake-up of red tape, and ended up taking out loads of safety regulations,” one union source told The Guardian.

The issue was drawn into sharp criticism following the publication of a report into the Grenfell Tower fire, which found lax safety regulations and enforcement contributed to the tragedy.

Acknowledging this during his keynote speech, Sir Keir said regulation must not inhibit growth and investment, indicating a desire to strike a balance.

Customers are being urged to “urgently” pressure MPs over a post-Brexit wine tax dubbed Rishi Sunak’s “sneaky Sauvignon surcharge”.

Major wine companies such as Majestic have asked customers to write to their member of parliament to highlight the issue before Rachel Reeves‘ Budget at the end of this month – to “get this ill-conceived policy stopped before it is too late”.

A £1.1 billion investment into London’s Stansted airport over five years has been announced by the prime minister at the International Investment Summit.

Of this, £600m will go towards expanding the terminal by a third, while £500m will be spent on improving the terminal and the airport estate.

The investment will also fund a 14.3 megawatt on-site solar farm to meet the airport’s energy demands.

Transport Secretary, Louise Haigh, said: “We have been steadfast in our commitment to help British businesses grow and in turn boost the UK’s economy. This announcement is a clear signal that Britain is open for business.”

Asked about healthcare, the prime minister says the UK is rightly proud of the NHS, but that if Labour put more money into the health service “as it is,” it won’t be improved.

Instead, he says, it must be reformed and reimagined through AI and tech. The prime minister says, for example, he has seen AI used for early cancer detection.

He adds that it is his ambition for people to look back on the current government in 50 years and be as proud of its record on healthcare as the postwar Labour government, which famously established the NHS.

The former boss of Google has said he was “shocked” to hear Labour has become “strongly in favour of growth”.

In a culmination of Sir Keir Starmer’s attempts to restore his party’s relationship with business, which collapsed under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, he is sat alongside the tech giant’s former CEO Eric Schmidt and GSK chief Dame Emma Walmsley pitching for investors to pile money into Britain.

The PM’s inaugural investment summit, which has brought hundreds of executives from some of the world’s biggest firms to London, is a sign of how much he has changed the Labour Party since succeeding Mr Corbyn in 2020.

Responding to Mr Schmidt’s apparent jibe, Sir Keir said “wealth creation is the number one mission of a Labour government”. To which Mr Schmidt replied: “Did you hear that?”

It is hard to imagine a similar event taking place under Mr Corbyn’s leadership of the party, when business chiefs shunned Labour for being anti-business, something Mr Corbyn claimed was “complete nonsense”.

Speaking about the UK’s world standing, Sir Keir says that Brexit adversely affected the country’s international reputation.

He says that regardless of why people voted, “the impression was given that the UK was more interested in turning in on itself, becoming more isolated, and less interested in the outside world like we once were.”

The PM says that he will “reset” to make it clear to investors that this is not the case and that the UK wants to resume its former place on the world stage.

He adds that he is looking to build bridges with counterparts in Europe, having met several leaders across the continent in his first 100 days.