Labour promises ‘wealth creation’ manifesto and vows it will be ‘pro-business and pro-worker’
Labour has promised its manifesto will have “wealth creation” at its heart, ahead of the document’s launch.
Sir Keir Starmer will take to the stage in Manchester on Thursday in an effort to convince the public he has the right policies to earn the keys to Number 10.
The Labour leader is expected to say that “growth is our core business – the end and the means of national renewal”, as he pledges to bring Britain’s finances back on to a steady footing.
And he will insist his Labour government – if it wins the election on 4 July – will be both “pro-business and pro-worker”.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The party has consistently led the polls over the past three weeks of the campaign, putting it around 20 points ahead of the Tories.
But party officials fear complacency could see them fail to cross the line at the ballot box in three weeks’ time, as well as surveys showing the public has yet to warm to Sir Keir – even if they favour him over Rishi Sunak.
The manifesto launch will be a chance for him to convince floating voters by outlining Labour’s plans for power, though a party source told Sky News it would be a “slim” document.
Read more:
What are the Greens’, Conservatives’ and Lib Dem manifesto pledges?
How to register to vote
Election lingo explained
On the economy, Sir Keir will offer “tough new spending rules to allow businesses to plan”, as well as a cap on corporation tax of 25% and promises of industry investment.
But he will also commit to Labour’s “new deal for working people”, including better childcare, better pay, and help for people to get back into employment.
The leader will pledge to overhaul planning rules with a new 10-year infrastructure strategy for rail, road and homes, and will reiterate plans to “shift power away from Westminster” by giving new responsibilities to regional mayors.
And he will promise to reform the immigration and skills system in the UK “to ensure Britain is developing home-grown skills with workforce plans to meet the needs of industries and the economy”.
Sir Keir will say: “Some people say that how you grow the economy is not a central question – that it’s not about how you create wealth, but how you tax it, how you spend it, how you slice the cake, that’s all that matters.
“So let me be crystal clear – this manifesto is a total rejection of that argument, because if you transform the nature of the jobs market, change the infrastructure that supports investment into our economy, reform the planning regime, start to unlock the potential of billions upon billions in projects that are ready to go, held up by the blockers of aspiration, then that does so much more to our long-term growth prospects.”
He will add: “We have a plan in this manifesto that represents a total change in direction, that is laser-focused on our cause. A government back in the service of you and your family.”
Richard Holden, chairman of the Conservative Party, said: “Labour aren’t being honest with the public; they are refusing to say what they would really do because they know it would lose them votes.
“Labour will tax your family home, tax your pension, tax your job and tax your car and drag pensioners into the retirement tax.
“Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner are asking for a blank cheque and it’s becoming clear what he wants to do with it – put up your taxes.
“Only Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives have a clear plan to cut taxes, backed by bold action, to chart a course to a more secure future for Britain.”
A pack of trade and private equity suitors are circling Evri, one of Britain’s biggest parcel delivery companies.
Sky News has learnt that Apollo Global Management and Platinum Equity are among the parties which have lodged initial offers for Evri, which is reportedly worth around £2bn.
City sources said that a number of strategic bidders were also participating in the auction, which is being run by bankers at Rothschild.
Evri, which changed its name from Hermes in 2022, uses more than 20,000 couriers and has a network of over 14,000 ParcelShops and lockers.
Pic: PA
It is used by a large number of prominent retailers as well as the online platforms Etsy and Vinted.
The company has been owned by Advent International, another private equity group, since 2020, when it bought it from German mail order company Otto.
It has a near-20pc share of the UK market, delivering more than 700m parcels annually.
Read more business news:
Blackstone swoops for stake in Theatreland giant ATG
Steelworkers to hold first UK strike in 40 years
Four members of Britain’s richest family get jail terms
The auction of Evri comes as Parcelforce’s parent, the Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services, is in the process of being taken private.
On Friday, Sky News revealed that Yodel, which narrowly averted collapse this year, was raising tens of millions of pounds to strengthen its balance sheet.
Advent declined to comment, while neither Apollo nor Platinum responded to a request for comment.
Blackstone, one of the world’s biggest private equity firms, is in advanced talks to buy a stake in Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), the owner of some of the most famous playhouses in London’s West End.
Sky News has learnt that Blackstone, which manages more than $1trn (£790bn) in assets, is close to snapping up a minority interest in the owner of the Duke of York’s and Lyceum theatres.
If completed, it will be a significant corporate transaction for a company which has staged productions of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hamilton and The Book of Mormon.
Money blog: The mortgage chokehold facing old-age Britons
City sources said that Blackstone was expected to acquire the shareholding from TEG, an Australian live entertainment and ticketing company which bought into ATG during the pandemic.
One added that the deal would involve a stake of between 10% and 15% changing hands.
ATG has been majority-owned by Providence Equity Partners since 2013, making it a lengthy ownership period by private equity industry standards.
Providence did consider running a sale process several years ago but was stymied by the pandemic, which forced the closure of theatres and other live entertainment venues for months during a succession of lockdowns.
ATG operates dozens of theatres in the UK, with its other prominent venues including the Harold Pinter Theatre, as well as the Empire in Liverpool and the Lyric and Hudson on Manhattan’s Broadway.
In total, it owns roughly 60 theatres, having struck a deal in 2021 to buy the Golden Gate Theatre and Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, and the Fisher Theatre in Detroit – both of which are key cities for touring Broadway productions.
The group operates dozens of theatres in the UK. Pic: iStock
Pic: Geoff Moore/Shutterstock
Last year, it announced that it was combining its US operations with Jujamcyn Theaters to strengthen its position in that market.
The company competes with rivals including Lord Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group and the billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik, who owns the Theatre Royal Haymarket.
The valuation of ATG in the deal with Blackstone was unclear this weekend.
Read more on Sky News:
Four members of Britain’s richest family get jail terms
Steelworkers to hold first UK strike in 40 years
Providence acquired the company for £350m over a decade ago.
In 2022, it was reported to be seeking to refinance roughly £1.2bn of debt.
ATG has a workforce of more than 4,000 full-time equivalent employees, and its venues have played host to some of the world’s most successful plays and musicals, including The Lion King, Les Miserables and Wicked.
The company was founded in the 1990s by the husband-and-wife team Sir Howard Panter and Dame Rosemary Squire, who subsequently went on to set up a rival theatrical group.
It is now run by Ted Stimpson, a leisure industry veteran who replaced Mark Cornell last year.
A renewed sale process for ATG is said to be unlikely to take place for some time.
Accounts for International Entertainment Holdings, ATG’s parent company, show it made a record operating profit in the year to 25 March 2023 of £120.5m.
It said that advance ticket sales were exceeding pre-COVID levels.
Blackstone and Providence both declined to comment.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports3 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports8 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Environment1 year agoTesla advances Powerwall pilot project with German electric company