Starmer vows to cut red tape as he urges foreign investors to ‘back’ UK

LONDON: Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Monday told global business leaders it was “time to back Britain”, as he hosted a major summit aimed at securing much-needed funds to fuel economic growth after post-Brexit chaos.

Starmer told captains of industry that his recently elected Labour government would “rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment” and pledged to slash red tape.

The premier -- treading a tricky path to be both pro-business and also pro-worker, with a series of new workplace safeguards for employees -- has placed great importance on the International Investment Summit in London.

He is hoping that the announcement of billions of pounds (dollars) of foreign investment in UK projects will overshadow its chaotic build-up.Starmer won a thumping majority in July’s election but has seen his government’s popularity plummet following a series of missteps, with a recent YouGov poll showing only 18 per cent of the public approved of its performance.

The prime minister said his focus is “not the days or hours of the news grid” but on the “golden opportunity” that his electoral mandate presents for delivering his central mission of growing the UK economy.

“Private sector investment is the way we rebuild our country and pay our way in the world. Make no mistake, this is a great moment to back Britain,” Starmer said.He promised that where regulation is currently “stopping us building the homes, the data centres, warehouses, grid connectors, roads, train lines, you name it, then mark my words -- we will get rid of it”.

“We will rip out the bureaucracy that blocks investment,” he added, promising that his administration “will make sure that every regulator in this country” takes growth “as seriously as this room does”.Starmer said he was “determined to repair Britain’s brand as an open, outward-looking, confident trading nation”.