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Labour’s Rachel Reeves will vow to boost the UK’s attraction as a destination for business investment in a pitch to corporate bosses in Davos, where she will accuse the governing Conservatives of undermining economic stability.
In a visit to the Swiss mountain resort during meetings of the World Economic Forum, Reeves will promise to “restore Britain’s reputation as a place to do business”, while claiming the Tory party has presided over “14 years of stagnant economic growth and political uncertainty [that] has left Britain weaker”.
The Labour party is attempting to burnish its pro-business credentials and prove it has moved towards the middle ground on economic policy following the party’s 2019 general election defeat under former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Reeves and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer attended Davos meetings last year to make contact with the world’s financial elite as they embraced global capitalism and pledged to improve relations with the UK’s European neighbours.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is also due to address leaders in Davos, including participating in a panel discussing technology. He has predicted that 2024 will be an improvement on previous years as it presents a moment to “throw off our pessimism and declinism about the UK economy”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to call an election later this year. With public debt heading above 90 per cent of gross domestic product, the next government will have little fiscal room for manoeuvre, leaving it reliant on efforts to improve business confidence and investment in order to rejuvenate an economy that is mired in stagnation.
In November, Hunt unveiled cuts to business and personal taxes by £20bn in an Autumn Statement aimed at boosting growth.
Reeves will speak to business leaders at an event hosted by JPMorgan, pitching ideas including the idea of a national wealth fund that will aim to leverage £3 of private investment for every £1 of government money.
The UK needs a new economic model that puts “economic security first and rebuilds our ability to do, make and sell more at home”, she will say. “None of the ambitions of the next Labour government can be achieved without business. The lifeblood of economic growth is private sector investment.”
Reeves will argue that the UK is heavily exposed to global shocks and turbulence, accusing the Conservatives of policy decisions that made the country weaker. These include a “chaotic” departure from the EU and the bond market turmoil unleashed by former prime minister Liz Truss’s “mini” Budget in 2022.
Reeves will be joined by Labour’s Shadow Business and Trade secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
