The weather was dark and dreary as we arrived in Brighton for the Labour party conference, and much of the media noise was focused on the internal battles at the heart of the UK’s main opposition party.
Still, in our meetings and engagements with councillors and MPs the mood was more bullish, with attention centred on what London needs to build back better and recover as quickly as possible.
At our London Reception the atmosphere was positive. Chief Executive John Dickie set the scene, highlighting why he is confident in capital’s ability to recover and outlining what’s needed to make that recovery swift and successful. Critical to that future for the capital is a fully-funded public transport system. John covered this and the ongoing fuel crisis in broadcast interviews with ITV News.
Katja Hall, Chief Corporate Affairs and Marketing Officer from Capita then took to the stage, focusing on the need for the capital’s recovery to be a sustainable one, highlighting their involvement in the ULEZ and urging London’s businesses to focus on a green recovery. This is a theme we returned to at a private dinner that evening, which was a lively discussion with MPs, AMs and councillors on how cities and net zero carbon can go together.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan gave the keynote speech at the reception, and echoed the need for a fully-funded public transport system, with no drop in service levels – the confidence that Londoners have re-gained from commuting to work risks evaporating if faced with infrequent, cramped carriages. He also gave us a preview of his conference speech, looking at a mass retrofitting programme for London’s buildings, supporting Capita’s view that a green recovery is the best recovery for London and highlighting his focus on Labour as the party of business.
We are grateful to the Mayor of London and Deputy Mayor for Business Rajesh Agrawal for taking the time to speak at our event, and to Capita for their support.
Of course, the Conference floor also saw a number of other policy announcements made, with Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves announcing a review of business rates, and a temporary increase in the digital tax system. In our reaction, we welcomed the review of the broken business rates system, but urged caution over UK-specific tax hikes that risk driving innovative firms offshore.
Both the Mayor and Keir Starmer focused on the need for a positive working relationship between business and government, which is crucial, as it will turbo-charge the pace of recovery. The Leader’s announcements on skills and innovation were also welcome, as getting reskilling right will be critical to the future of the UK’s economy. We look forward to taking tour key recovery asks to the Conservative Party Conference next week in Manchester, and hope to see as many of you there as possible.