Labour’s ‘Smoked Salmon Offensive’: How Sir Keir Starmer and Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves are Building Bridges with Business Leaders

In recent months, the Labour Party has been making a concerted effort to attract business leaders. This was evidenced by the party hosting a day of networking at the Oval cricket ground in London, where a representative from Skanska raised concerns about Britain’s attractiveness due to issues with big infrastructure projects. In response, Jonathan Reynolds, the party’s shadow business secretary, vowed to personally visit Stockholm to make his pitch.

Under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour Party has taken proactive steps to engage with the business community. Along with Mr Reynolds and Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, they have met with almost all of the FTSE 350 companies, which are the largest listed firms in Britain. In an effort to build relationships with these companies, they have organized a series of breakfast meetings that they have humorously named “the smoked salmon offensive.” This approach is similar to the “prawn cocktail offensive” that helped Sir Tony Blair establish ties with the City before his successful election in 1997.