LABOUR AND TORIES FACE OFF IN DAVOS

The Leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, loudly attended the World Economic Forum in January. Reeves said Labour would “work in partnership with business” to boost investment and that the party wanted to ensure the UK was “a world leader in the climate transition.”

The World Economic Forum meeting, hosted in Davos, Switzerland, brought together politicians, businesspeople and other influential figures. The current UK government was represented at the event by Business Secretary Grant Shapps and International Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch.

Sir Keir Starmer said that foreign investment has declined sharply since the Tories took power in 2010 and cited United Nations figures which show that between 1997 and 2010 the UK accounted for 8% of world Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), but that fell to 4% between 2010 and 2021.

However, Grant Shapps highlighted a survey conducted by accountancy firm PwC which suggested that Britain was the third “most important” place in the world for businesses to invest, behind the US and China.

A spokesperson for the Treasury was also quoted by the BBC saying: “As a central part of our plan to grow the economy we are supporting business investment, including by permanently setting the Annual Investment Allowance at its highest ever level of £1m from April, and through our generous £13.6bn package of business rates support.”