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Starmer: Labour must work with business to create fairer society

Labour leader calls for ‘moral crusade’ in wake of Covid pandemic to deliver social justice and equality
Keir Starmer has argued that Labour must build “a strong partnership with businesses” if it is to create a more just and equal post-Covid society, saying that for too long the party saw business as “something just to be tolerated or taxed”.
In a much-trailed speech setting out his goals for the party, and his aspirations for a Labour government, Starmer said this idea of working with business was “pivotal to my leadership, and to my vision of the future”.
This also involved businesses taking a central role in dealing with social responsibilities and the climate emergency, the Labour leader said.
“A fair society will lead to a more prosperous economy,” he said. “It’s not the choice of one or the other, as the Conservatives would have you believe. We either have both or we have neither. Harold Wilson once said that the Labour party is a moral crusade or it is nothing – he was right.”
One key idea floated in the speech was a saving scheme intended to help people invest in the UK’s post-Covid future, based on Bank of England forecasts showing many households have accumulated savings during lockdown, which will not necessarily be spent.
Starmer proposed the idea of a “British recovery bond”, which would work like premium bonds, the long-standing scheme run by National Savings and Investments, but with the money going directly into Covid recovery schemes.The plan is similar to the idea of a post-Covid “northern recovery bond” floated earlier this week by the Northern Research Group of Tory MPs and the Centre for Policy Studies, the thinktank co-founded by Margaret Thatcher.
He also pledged to create 100,000 startups in the next five years, with a focus on pushing funds to help this nationally, beyond London and the south-east of England.
Outlining what he called “our moral crusade”, Starmer focused heavily on inequalities, arguing that coronavirus had demonstrated “a deadly ability to find the most vulnerable and to expose deep inequalities and injustices”.
These must be addressed, he argued, likening current times to the postwar period, with a “determination that our collective sacrifice must lead to a better future”.
“The terrible damage caused by the virus to health and prosperity has been made all the worse because the foundations of our society have been weakened over a decade,” Starmer said, citing the work of epidemiologist Prof Michael Marmot, which showed declining life expectancy in some poorer areas.
“What sort of legacy is that, for a party that’s been in government for a decade, that life itself has got cheaper, and shorter?” Starmer said.
Given this, next month’s budget amounted to “a fork in the road” for the UK, Starmer said, dismissing the idea that the government was able to address the scale of inequalities shown up by coronavirus.
“If you can’t decide whether to plunge hundreds of thousands of children into poverty by cutting universal credit, you have no chance of mending our broken system,” he said.
Along with pledges to extend business rate and VAT relief, and to extend the Covid furlough scheme, Starmer said said that under his leadership, “Labour’s priority will always be financial responsibility”. He added: “I know the value of people’s hard-earned money – I take that incredibly seriously.”
What was needed, he said, was “a new partnership between an active government, enterprising business and the British people”.
He said: “The Conservatives are incapable of this: they simply don’t believe it’s the duty of government to deliver social justice and equality – that’s why they’ll always fall back on the short-term demands of the market.”
source: Peter Walker
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BENEFIT Sponsors Gulf Uni...
- April 17, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has announced its sponsorship of the “Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition (GU - IST Solutions), hosted by Gulf University at its main campus.
This strategic sponsorship reflects BENEFIT’s active role in advancing technological innovation and fostering sustainable solutions to future challenges. It also seeks to empower Bahraini youth by enhancing their skills, capabilities, and competitiveness in innovation and solution development—contributing meaningfully to the broader goals of sustainable development across all sectors.
As part of BENEFIT’s active involvement in the competition, the company has announced that Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication, will serve on the competition’s supervisory committee. Her upcoming participation reflects BENEFIT’s forward-looking commitment to championing academic and professional excellence.
Commenting on the occasion, Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication at BENEFIT, said, “We are privileged to support this pioneering initiative, which aligns seamlessly with BENEFIT’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation and nurturing the potential of Bahrain’s youth. Our participation is rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility and a firm belief in the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Through such platforms, we seek to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and foresight required to develop impactful solutions that address future challenges, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Dr. Aseel Al Ayash Dean of the College of Engineering in Gulf University commented, “We extend our sincere gratitude to BENEFIT for their generous sponsorship and support of the Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition. This contribution plays an instrumental role in helping us achieve the strategic goals of this initiative, namely, cultivating a culture of innovation and sustainability, encouraging efforts that address the imperatives of sustainable development, and enhancing the practical and professional capabilities of our students and participants.”
The event will bring together a diverse spectrum of participants, including secondary school students, university undergraduates, engineers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and subject matter experts representing a wide range of disciplines.
The competition seeks to inspire participants to develop and present innovative, sustainable technologies aimed at addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. It encourages the formulation of business models that integrate advanced technological solutions with core principles of sustainability. Moreover, it serves as a platform for emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promote the ethos of responsible technology, and demonstrate its transformative potential across various sectors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to view a series of project presentations submitted by participants, covering diverse areas such as eco-friendly product design, smart and sustainable innovations, renewable energy technologies, water conservation and management, waste minimisation and recycling, green architectural solutions, and sustainable transportation systems. Outstanding projects will be formally recognised and awarded at the conclusion of the event.
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