Andy Burnham called for a “culture shift” in how the UK does business as Octopus Energy sits at the centre of a wider push for growth before a meeting with some of Britain’s biggest bosses and the government. He said companies need the confidence that support will follow a good idea, not more friction.
Burnham said he would give people “the confidence that if they have a great idea, they'll get all the support they need to bring it to life”. For firms facing higher costs, that is the clearest signal from a Labour figure that growth talk is meant to become practical backing, not just a slogan.
BP, Shell and HSBC on Monday
Monday’s meeting will bring together the heads of BP, Shell, HSBC, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, BT, Vodafone and Rolls-Royce. Burnham said that when local leaders have the tools to get things done and government works in partnership with business, investment, jobs and communities can be transformed.
“When local leaders have the tools to get things done and government works in partnership with business, you can pull in investment, create jobs and transform communities,” he said, adding that the government should be “a partner for growth to make every part of Britain better off”.
Monday and Tuesday cancellations
Burnham had been due to attend the meeting, but he cancelled his engagements for Monday and Tuesday after the death of his father. That leaves the message intact but the personal role absent at the moment when business leaders and ministers are being asked to narrow the gap between pro-growth language and day-to-day costs.
The pressure point is plain: the Labour government has been criticised for increasing costs for firms through employer national insurance and minimum wage changes under Sir Keir Starmer, while John Healey is preparing for his first Budget next month. In parallel, hundreds of hospitality businesses have pressed for VAT for the sector to be cut, with more than 800 pub, restaurant and hotel bosses asking for the rate to fall from 20% to 10%.
John Healey's Budget test
July brought a surprise boost in the economy partly driven by artificial intelligence investment, but experts expect growth to slow in the months ahead because of high energy prices. That puts the meeting into sharper focus: if ministers want firms to keep investing, they will need to show how a partnership for growth translates into lower drag on business decisions, not just warmer language.
What specific measures the government and business leaders will agree on at the meeting is still the open question, and the Budget next month will show whether the call for a culture shift turns into policy that companies can price into hiring, investment and expansion plans.
