Keir Starmer today unveiled plans to hand tax breaks to rich venture capitalists as he declared himself “ready to partner” with business.
The Labour leader parked his tanks on the Tory lawn by hosting a conference with 350 industry leaders - including chiefs of Aviva, HSBC and Tesco.
He said the sold-out summit in London’s Canary Wharf, which had 100 people on the waiting list, was “evidence the Labour Party has changed”.
And he welcomed a major review for Labour by Lord O’Neill, a former Goldman Sachs economist and ex-Tory Treasury minister under George Osborne.
The report suggests reviewing the “scope, scale and design” of the EIS and SEIS schemes - which offer tax “relief” to individual investors who buy shares in start-up firms.
This could include raising the limit on how much people can invest, extending the qualifying period or bringing more sectors into the scheme.
Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “We would look at whether there are ways to extend those schemes to get more money into those start-ups that we need.”
Under the report, a Labour government would also publish an annual “dashboard” showing how many “spinout” start-up firms have spawned through universities.
And it would ask pension funds and banks to put some of their money into venture capital - to help close a reported £16billion gap between the UK and US.
Ms Reeves denied the idea was a “danger”, saying: “The French are eating our lunch now when it comes to investing in start-ups. We want some of that action here in Britain.”
She has not committed to implementing all the recommendations but said: “This report sends a powerful message - Labour is back in business.”
In an charm offensive to business chiefs, Keir Starmer said the “one thing above all else” that had held back Britain was “the lack of economic growth”.
Promising to focus on three priorities - green growth, skills and stability - he said: “It’s not about the size of the state. It’s about what it can do.”
He added: “We’re not just a pro-business party, we’re a party that is proud of being pro-business. That is a matter of conviction for me and I’ve united our party behind it.”
Mr Starmer criticised the Tory governments of the last 12 years for their "failure to seize the opportunities", "short-termism" and "sticking-plaster politics".
He continued: "What I'm focused on is how Labour can remedy that historic wrong because it's going to be our job to tackle the long-term challenges to give Britain a new business model."
Ms Reeves declined to say Labour would bring back the cap on bankers’ bonuses - which Liz Truss axed in her ill-fated mini-Budget.
She said it was not the “right thing to do”, but she would only set out precise plans ahead of an election.
