One of the legacies of the New Labour Governments from 1997-2010 has been public-private finance arrangements where private sector investment is used to fund a range of public projects and services. Most will be aware of the issue with this by now. The private sector is happy to make profit but as soon as there is an issue the risk falls firmly with the public sector side of matters.
Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves in their bid to make Labour the party of business have been meeting a wide range of bosses.
In particular as the Financial Times(27th April) reports there have been meetings with Private Equity companies such as Blackstone. In essence Private Equity outfits have funds they are looking to invest somewhere with the aim of making a good return.
Labour has said that it sees Private Equity investment as a key way of boosting the economy and in the ‘energy transition’ The same issue still applies as it did after 1997. Private Equity companies operate on a global not a national scale. If things don’t work out well for them in the UK there are other countries.
The FT article concludes with a quote from Michael Moore CEO of the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association:
While some aspects can be uncomfortable at times, the good news for us is that Labour has gone in 18 months from talking about ‘asset strippers’ to openly engaging with us on how the industry contributes to growth in the economy’
Its called the Great Moving Right Show
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