As Boris Johnson alienates bosses, can Labour become the party of business?
For decades the Conservatives have styled themselves as the natural party of business. But now, as Boris Johnson stretches the relationship to breaking point, senior Labour figures believe their party has a historic opportunity to win that moniker.
Launching a report in Manchester on Friday backed by the shadow business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, the affiliate group Labour Business said the party could “seize the moment” to win over company bosses ahead of the next election.
Business leaders have lost patience with the prime minister as the Tory party descends into infighting, with Johnson seen as an electoral liability by prominent City backers after Partygate and running out of ideas on the economy. Relations have struggled to recover from Johnson’s reported “fuck business” retort over employer concerns over a hard Brexit.
Labour Business launched 50 years ago by Harold Wilson, argues that the party won past elections with a pro-business platform and should reclaim a proud tradition of backing enterprise that stretched back to the then Labour prime minister’s 1963 “white heat of technology” speech.
“There is a Wilsonian moment for the Labour party to seize,” it said in the report. “By showing an understanding of the future, Wilson was able to gain the trust of the public and put into sharp focus a tired Conservative government running out of ideas.”
Urging the party to talk up an enterprise-led economic recovery – while supporting workers, society and the environment – it said the Tories’ tarnished credibility would allow Labour to step in an engage more with the private sector.
The group suggested most businesses were adopting more socially responsible positions on a range of issues – including the environment, diversity
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