Is Britain open for business? Labour’s drive for investment and the UK’s industrial strategy

Yesterday marked a watershed for the Labour administration, as hundreds of top CEOs of blue-chip companies around the world landed in London for the Government’s flagship International Investment Summit. Announced just a month after Labour’s election victory, the Summit’s key purpose was to show that Britain is open and ripe for foreign investment – fuelling Keir Starmer’s top priority of economic growth across the country.

Despite reports in the lead up to the Summit of dissatisfaction among some business leaders, and continued speculation around the impact of the upcoming Budget, the Government lauded the event as a great success. Investors committed to £63 billion of private investment, which will create 38,000 jobs across the UK.

However, as public affairs professionals it is crucial to consider – how this investment get-together translates into effective policy? In his opening address, the Prime Minister launched Labour’s new industrial strategy ‘Invest 2035’ which aims to develop the framework required to “hardwire stability for investors.”

The Strategy is a substantial document, which focuses on prioritising eight sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Energy, Creative Industries, Defence, Digital Technologies, Financial Services, Life Sciences, and Professional Business Services. This strategy leverages the UK’s strengths—its innovative firms, high-quality research institutions, skilled workforce across key regions, and global connectivity—to overcome recent challenges like economic shocks and productivity slowdowns.

However, central to the Industrial Strategy is a message of collaboration and partnerships, with the Government committing to develop a ‘Business Partnership Framework’ to underpin the makeup and subsequent implementation of the Strategy and its wider policies. This will ensure a new approach to Government engagement with businesses, which will seek to streamline opportunities to feed into policy from the very start of the process, particularly for those operating across the eight identified key sectors. This Framework will include a simpler set of rules to improve relations between business and the civil service, the creation of a new business ‘academy’ to set standards for all civil servants, a renewed data-led focus and approach to secondments to encourage civil servants to experience working in business first-hand.

The Government has recognised that it must listen harder to business voices and develop capabilities across Whitehall to understand business needs. Given that Labour’s election campaign had growth at its heart, the Summit and new UK Industrial Strategy present an outstanding opportunity for businesses to set out what they need, in policy terms, to invest.

The final strategy, expected in the spring, will be shaped by contributions from businesses, experts, and other stakeholders. A public consultation is now open until November 25th. The team at Rud Pedersen is experienced in navigating the development of legislation that shaping multiple business sectors in the UK. If you are contemplating how the UK industrial strategy may impact or create opportunities for your business and would like support, please get in touch via [email protected].