Reeves' tale
Labour conference , Issue 1609

WHAT did the corporate lobbyists crowding the Labour party conference make of shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves' promise that a future Labour government would "invest in homegrown industries in every corner of our country"?

Reeves told conference that her new National Wealth Fund would have a target: "For every pound of investment we put in," she said, "we will leverage in three times as much private investment." Investors will assume that if the government has a stake in, say, a car-battery factory, that it won't be allowed to go bust or lose money for shareholders.

Equitable arrangement
At a meeting funded by the City of London Corporation, shadow treasury deputy Darren Jones explained the detail. The government would own a portfolio of equity stakes in "strategic assets across the country" – and owning such shares is better than "subsidising a business that can just take the profits offshore".

However, Jones admitted that Labour's scheme is effectively a watered-down version of US president Joe Biden's misleadingly named Inflation Reduction Act. While the US president has the power to force firms to do good things in return for state support – Jones gave the example of Biden saying "we'll give you more if you put a childcare facility in your microchip-manufacturing plant" – he and Reeves would be unable to do this.

The ghost of PFI
The City of London paid for the room and drinks, so its policy chair, Chris Hayward, sat on the panel. Hayward said investors would expect more influence over these government-backed investments.

"I'm particularly interested in the £1 of public money for every £3 of private sector money – it will be interesting to see how that pans out," he said. "If you want the private sector to take 75 percent of the investment risk, what's going to be their return?"

Hayward approvingly labelled Labour's plan a public-private partnership (PPP) – a worrying turn of phrase, as Labour's last version of PPP, the private finance initiative, lumbered the public purse with crippling private-sector payments.

Handy Mandy
AT a separate fringe event organised by Tory-supporting think tank Onward and funded by Amazon, New Labour relic Lord Mandelson grew visibly tetchy when GMB pickets started handing out leaflets accusing Amazon of being anti-trade union. He said that he "would have bitten not just your right arm off but your left arm too for an Amazon development" in his Hartlepool constituency when he was an MP.

Now Lord Mandy and an adviser to the post-Corbyn Labour leadership, Mandy said the party under Keir Starmer must join the "race for subsidised capitalism", and a Starmer government would have to write cheques worth billions to business to compete with the US or China. He hoped they would be "cheques aligned to government policy" but had a tolerant view of which firms matched Labour policy.

Boot of the union
In the past, Starmer has suggested public investment would only go to union-recognising firms. But Mandy argued that Labour had to be cautious about increasing business costs by too much market regulation.

As well advising Starmer, Mandy of course also runs a consultancy, Global Counsel, which for a fee will "help companies and investors" to "see opportunities in politics".

More top stories in the latest issue:

LIVERPOOL TRANSFER
Housing developer Thakeham, a leading Tory donor, sponsored a reception for South East Labour and the Labour Councillors' Lounge at the party conference.

DRUG DEALINGS
Big Pharma was a big presence at the Labour conference, perhaps hoping a change of government may sweeten its relationship – and deals – with the NHS.

NEW HOME FOR VOTES
With Rishi Sunak barely mentioning housing at the Tory party conference, Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner filled the void, but social housing got few mentions.

CONFERENCE SKETCH
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves had stern words about politicians using private jets – which might not have gone down well with Peter Mandelson.

HOME TRUTHS
Akshata Murty vouched for her husband Rishi Sunak's "deep love for his home, the United Kingdom", without mentioning any commitment on her own part.

BYE-BYE ELECTION
Tamworth constituents find themselves with not one but two Conservative parliamentary candidates ahead of a by-election to replace Chris Pincher.

FUNDING THE HABIT
The charity GambleAware has received the vast majority of its funding from gambling operators, raising suspicions that this might influence its work.

SNP'D OFF
Short of willing campaigners in the run-up to a recent by-election, the SNP hired workers on zero hours contracts, contrary to party policy.