Andy Burnham to host entrepreneurs and local mayors at No 10 on Monday

Andy Burnham will host business leaders, entrepreneurs, and regional mayors at Downing Street on Monday, as part of Prime Minister's pledge to "reindustrialise Britain" through a new partnership with the private sector. The event aims to showcase Britain's potential for growth, highlighting the country's skilled workforce and world-class universities, while addressing the need for a cultural shift in business practices.

Burnham will lead a roundtable discussion with the founders of innovative companies, such as Octopus Energy, Revolut, Starling Bank, and Oxford Quantum Circuits, followed by a reception for chief executives of major British businesses. These include HSBC, Aviva, Standard Chartered, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, BT, Vodafone, BP, Shell, Rolls-Royce, and BAE Systems.

The gathering precedes Burnham and Chancellor John Healey's first budget presentation on October 28th. Despite recent economic growth in July, fueled by AI and cloud computing, economists caution that rising energy costs could undermine expansion in the subsequent months. Burnham and Healey are committed to fiscal rules, ensuring spending is covered by taxes and government debt falls as a percentage of the economy by 2029/30, while avoiding any income tax, national insurance, or VAT increases as per Labour's manifesto.