Moray Macdonald’s Post

This week at Instinctif our ‘Navigating Labour’ team hosted a dinner roundtable with CEOs and communications peers from leading financial services organisations to discuss, debate and share insights on what a Labour Government would mean for the industry. 💡 Our key takeaways 🌟 Labour’s big push will be the growth agenda needed to meet its fiscal and policy ambitions; the key question was what is the role of business in helping to realise this. 🌟 A Labour government will be focused on setting the ‘tram tracks’ for business to follow and then expect business to take the heavy load on delivering, particularly through unlocking capital. 🌟 Labour will be most open to engagement that focusses on delivering clear solutions and working with government, rather than ‘complaining’ without solutions. 🌟 Under Keir Starmer, there is greater recognition of business and the role it can play. 🌟 Questions may be asked of regulators and whether they are listening and engaging to all of the industry. If you are starting to think about what a Labour Government will mean for your business and how you could engage with them, do reach out to us at Tellmemore@instinctif.com. #Policy #LabourGovernment #Politics #Labour 

This week I was delighted to speak on what a Labour Government might mean for the FS sector at a dinner roundtable hosted by my colleagues at Instinctif Partners and our CEO Julian Walker, attended by representatives from leading financial services organisations. We discussed, debated and shared insights on what the coming months and years will bring for the sector. Insightful contributions from all, including Instinctif's Senior Advisor David Gauke 💡 Key takeaways from the discussions included 🌟 Labour’s big push will be the growth agenda needed to meet its fiscal and policy ambitions; the key question was what is the role of business in helping to realise this. 🌟 A Labour government will be focused on setting the ‘tram tracks’ for business to follow and then expect business to take the heavy load on delivering, particularly through unlocking capital. 🌟 Labour will be most open to engagement that focusses on delivering clear solutions and working with government, rather than ‘complaining’ without solutions. 🌟 Under Keir Starmer, there is greater recognition of business and the role it can play. 🌟 Questions may be asked of regulators and whether they are listening and engaging to all of the industry. If you are looking to understand what a Labour Government will mean for your business and how you could engage with a new Government, do reach out to us at Tellmemore@instinctif.com. #Policy #LabourGovernment #Politics #Labour 

Great to see The Labour Party's "Business Partnership for Growth" outline a marked change in its relationship with #business. Unleashing business' full firepower to do good can help the government achieve policy priorities and address key #UKchallenges. The newly published party document echoes some key ideas & principles that we put forward in our recent report on the future of government-business #collaboration: - Government should use its power to set the strategic direction of the partnership and be #transparent about its objectives.  - Businesses should have a strong part in the #decisionmaking process. There should be meaningful consultation in which businesses are empowered to shape how the government achieves specific objectives.  - Business' expertise, skills and #innovativepower should be adequately and thoughtfully harnessed to accelerate progress.  - Businesses have a huge role to play in growing a "secure, well-paid and motivated workforce".  - A new Industrial Strategy Council should be created to give stability to the industrial strategy and should include experts from business. Click here to read the full document: https://lnkd.in/eEUtyb2N Click here to read ReGenerate's report on effective government-business #partnerships: https://lnkd.in/g52jbXPe

Join us for a dynamic event designed to demystify the upcoming Labour Reforms and equip you with the knowledge needed to navigate the evolving business landscape. This interactive and informative session aims to achieve the following objectives, and is ideally suited to Leadership, HR, Legal and Compliance Teams: *1. Unveiling the Future: Introduction to Labour Reforms* Explore the 'why' behind the proposed Labour Reforms. Gain a synopsis of the reform process to understand the broader context. *2. Decoding Change: 34 Key Amendments* Dive into an introduction of the 34 pivotal amendments & grasp the expected impact on: (i) Businesses: Learn how these changes will influence day-to-day operations. (ii) Investment Climate: Discover new opportunities in an evolving landscape. (iii) Socio-economic Fabric: Understand the broader implications on society and the economy. *3. Interactive Dialogue and Practical Insights* Engage in a vibrant forum where business leaders and practitioners come together & seize the opportunity to: (i) Familiarize yourself with impending amendments. (ii) Clarify any concerns you may have. (iii) Obtain high-value, practical knowledge. (iv) Equip your teams with proactive strategies for the upcoming changes. We have very limited seats, so hurry with your registration by scanning the QR code or clicking this link: https://lnkd.in/ezn8fcrs

What does a mission-led government actually mean? John Gieve and Pamela Dow joined me to unpick Labour's thinking on government reform and how this might impact businesses. Reflecting on some of their own experiences of leading within the civil service, they also highlighted the challenges that will face a Labour government and how they might overcome these. Here are some of the key takeaways: 🚀 A mission-led Labour government will change the way businesses interact with government. Missions involve coalescing different groups around the same problem and adopting a bottom-up approach which provides greater flexibility in how you achieve goals and most importantly, innovation to surface. The appointment of former Permanent Secretary, Sue Gray, as chief of staff and several other ex-HMT and HMG officials within key policy roles is indicative of how serious Labour is about overcoming civil service departmental barriers. 💷 Something akin to the No.10 Delivery unit set up under the last Labour government is potentially more likely than Francis Maude’s recommendation to remove HMT’s responsibility for spending. Large machinery of government changes are burdensome, and a Labour government may find it hard to justify weakening HMT power during an economic downturn. Creating a stronger centre and strengthening accountability of delivery, as suggested by their plan to create watchdogs styled on the OBR for each mission, will force businesses to expand relationships beyond single departments.   🥅 There are “open goals” to capitalise on technology across government and there will be a strong appetite for examples of change under a Labour government. Labour lacks technological expertise and is keen for change, but not sure how to achieve it and must navigate union preoccupation with job security. Labour party commentary to date reveals this tension: the party is comfortable talking about the opportunities in relation to helping people find jobs and healthcare, where there are severe workforce shortages, but has simultaneously signalled its threat. To demonstrate capabilities and navigate these sensitivities, businesses will be stronger in partnership and should ensure that trade associations are accurately representing their interests and not taking a ‘lowest common denominator’ approach.   The discussion also touched on the question of devolution which will dictate how ‘bottom-up’ the approach truly is, and the extent to which businesses will need to revise their stakeholder strategies. There is also a risk that increased devolution jeopardises the modernisation ambition, alignment through policies such as common data standards will be crucial in this regard. This is a topic Global Counsel intends to explore in more detail during another webinar session in the new year, watch this space. https://lnkd.in/ewafwzha

This morning Arden Strategies hosted a client breakfast with Vidhya Alakeson OBE, Keir Starmer’s Director of External Affairs. Thanks so much to Vidhya for taking the time to offer insightful thoughts. Here’s some quick reflections: Labour is still focussed on the possibility of an election in May, however unlikely that feels to most commentators. The relationship between Labour and business is essential to the Party’s ability to achieve its economic mission in government. It’s also emblematic of how Labour has, and continues, to change. The window on pre-election policy consultation is coming to a close soon, so it’s essential to engage now. There’s a realisation that there needs to be a new consistency around policy and investment environment on long term policies on sectors including tech, energy, and infrastructure. Labour is actively thinking very hard about what a ‘mission-driven’ government will look and feel like. There’s a realisation that government needs to be more effective in its engagement with the private sector. The Labour team are now focussed on planning their short campaign strategy - whether the election is in May or November. As always, if there’s anything that you’d like to discuss on your firm’s Labour Business Relations engagement please do be in touch.

The Times analysis of the Labour business plans gives a thumbs up to Industrial Strategy and Make UK's response of the 'strong signal it sends on the importance of domestic manufacturing' https://lnkd.in/eW_tyfY5

Where do Labour’s manifesto commitments leave British businesses and the role they can play in creating the future we need? With a new government in place, Chris Turner, the Better Business Act's Campaign Director and Executive Director of B Lab UK, reflects on Labour’s commitments and what they mean for British businesses and our collective future. Labour's manifesto calls for a ‘mission-driven government’ and recognises the vital role of businesses in achieving these goals. Their focus on sustainable growth, strategic partnerships, and inclusive economic contributions aligns with a better way of doing business. But voluntary actions alone aren’t enough - and we know that all businesses have a role to play in helping the government deliver its missions. The Better Business Act aims to amend Section 172 of the Companies Act to ensure company directors align social and environmental impact with shareholder returns - empowering them to become part of the solution. We’re excited to collaborate with our new government to ensure better business is at the heart of a thriving British economy that thinks for the long-term. Read the full blog on the B Lab UK website.👇 https://lnkd.in/gz5g78fw

Really interesting reflections from my colleague Ellie Miller on UK Labour’s thinking on the upcoming campaign and on business engagement, after our client breakfast this morning. Having led two nationwide campaigns, I think people outside the politics bubble sometimes miss how much of an enormous logistical exercise running an election campaign is. It might feel easy to say “there’s no way there will be an election in May” when you look at the polls. But when you have to be ready to run a six week visits schedule, a manifesto red team and rollout, a media grid, a field programme and advertising campaign at the drop of a hat, it takes up a huge amount of organizational bandwidth. It means Labour needs to be ready to fight an election campaign, propose and defend a manifesto, in an election that could be called in three weeks. Obviously if it’s a later election, that gives them more time, but they can’t risk getting caught short. Businesses wanting to engage will need to keep that in mind. 

A week into the new Labour Government that promises change. Our blog this week focuses on what it could mean for your business. Have a read, link below 👇