Labour Party’s Prawn Cocktail Offensive: Winning Over Business Leaders under Sir Keir’s Leadership

In recent months, the Labour Party has been actively courting business leaders, with Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet members leading the charge. During a day of networking at the Oval cricket ground in London, a representative from Skanska raised concerns about Britain’s attractiveness due to issues with big infrastructure projects. In response, Jonathan Reynolds, the party’s shadow business secretary, promised to personally travel to Stockholm to make his pitch.

This interaction underscored the Labour Party’s determination to win over business leaders under Sir Keir’s leadership. Along with Mr Reynolds and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, the party has made a concerted effort to meet with almost all of the FTSE 350 companies, Britain’s largest listed firms. To engage with the business community, they have organized a series of breakfast meetings, humorously dubbed “the smoked salmon offensive.” This approach is reminiscent of Tony Blair’s “prawn cocktail offensive,” which helped establish relationships with the City before his successful election in 1997.