Keir's counsel
Business adviser , Issue 1629 THE blossoming relationship between spooky Mayfair-based consultancy Hakluyt and Keir Starmer's Labour over the past couple of years (Eye 1620) has been consummated with the appointment of Hakluyt managing partner Varun Chandra as the PM's special adviser on business and investment.

While advice from the man who has been running the renowned recruiter of ex-spies and politicos and advises clients on the strategic issues of the day may be useful to Sir Keir, it's also a neat fit for Hakluyt. And, for that matter, for its venture capital arm, Hakluyt Capital, which Chandra co-founded and chaired until his Downing Street appointment.

This operation puts its investors' and some of its executives' money into companies applying artificial intelligence in everything from logistics to cyber security. Until 2022, the company was called Hakluyt Cyber Ltd.

One of the evolving issues on which Starmer will doubtless canvas Chandra's opinion is AI. But don't expect much change in what already looks like an AI-friendly government (no proposals for regulation in the King's Speech).

Interested party
This isn't Chandra's only interest in hot policy topics. While he is resigning his position with Hakluyt, there's no sign he will cease to be one of the leading shareholders in the company, Hakluyt & Company Ltd. This company owns other companies such as Hakluyt Capital Carry GP LLP and Hakluyt Capital 1 GP LLP. It is through these that partners earn fees and "carried interest" profits from their AI-focused investment fund.

In opposition, Labour had these sorts of profits in its sights for a possible tax rise above the current 28 percent capital gains tax rate to something closer to the income tax rates for higher earners. There are already signs it is wavering on this, and who better for the PM to consult for a business view on the matter than a man so, er, invested in it.