Burnham adopts listening tone with business at Labour conference while London watches October budget

A year after a fraught reception at the Labour conference, Andy Burnham returned as prime minister presenting a different tone to business. Where he had previously criticised Britain's reliance on debt markets, his approach in Liverpool was to appear "visible and engaged" and to listen to corporate concerns.

At a private CBI-hosted reception backed by firms including HSBC and National Grid, chancellor John Healey told executives the government would do "our bit" to help firms struggling with rising costs. Healey signalled that the October budget will aim to combine support for businesses with fiscal discipline, saying he and the prime minister were "in lockstep" on balancing the books.

Healey also indicated forthcoming policy moves, including welfare reform and a new apprenticeships scheme, though details were not disclosed at the reception.

Lobby groups and corporate attendees gave mixed responses. Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the CBI, captured the prevailing mood by urging observers to wait until after the 28 October budget before judging Labour's approach to business. Delegates recalled Labour's recent history: after returning to government in 2024, ministers initially courted corporate support and then implemented sizeable employer-focused tax increases in the first budget.

Shevaun Haviland of the British Chambers of Commerce welcomed the chancellor's acknowledgement that private enterprise is essential for growth, but stressed that firms face a "tsunami" of rising costs. Specific headwinds mentioned by business leaders include employment costs, energy prices and business rates — pressures that make investment decisions harder even where ministers are offering support.

The conference still attracted corporate sponsorship and presence: companies such as Mastercard, HSBC and Heathrow sponsored fringe events and networking, and senior bankers and trade body leaders attended the main sessions. However, some delegates noted fewer top bosses at the paid business-day events compared with previous years, reflecting lingering wariness among some executives.

Attendees described a deliberate effort by the government to place senior ministers with relevant sector leaders and to increase direct contact between policymakers and business. That shift aims to repair relations frayed after earlier tax decisions and to reassure City bond markets amid global uncertainty, particularly following turbulence linked to the Middle East conflict.

Numerous business figures framed their optimism as conditional on the October budget. They welcomed the outreach but remain concerned that future consolidation could again centre tax rises on employers. The chancellor's insistence that fiscal discipline will be at the heart of the budget reassures some observers about macroeconomic stability, but it also raises the prospect of politically difficult revenue measures that could hit firms.