Friday 22 May 2026 5:52 am  |  Updated:  Thursday 21 May 2026 2:13 pm

Business doesn’t want a ‘partnership’ with the state

By: Elliot Keck

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Threatening to cap supermarket prices shows this Labour government views business as a mark, not a partner, says Elliot Keck

Former US President Ronald Reagan once said: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government, and I’m here to help'”. The modern equivalent is surely “we want to build a new partnership between business and government.” 

Let’s look at the document titled ‘A New Partnership‘ produced for Labour while they were in opposition, produced by former Conservative adviser Iain Anderson. It called for such a partnership to be based on “clarity, consistency, courtesy, collaboration, capability, confidence.” Because who needs a serious strategy for economic growth when you have such alliterative flair?

What has this partnership with business looked like in reality? Let’s look at the most........

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