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The lobbyists bankrolling Labour’s ‘growth’ caucus
The Labour Growth Group and its think tank partner, the Good Growth Foundation, have taken funding from major lobbying firms linked to housebuilders, banks and Heathrow – raising questions about corporate influence at the heart of Starmer’s pro-growth project. SOLOMON HUGHES reports
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and then shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves during a visit to the London Stock Exchange Group, September 22, 2023
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RECENT reports show the Labour Growth Group and Good Growth Foundation — two key organisations for pro-Starmer MPs — both rely on funding from lobbyists, suggesting they are a key route for corporates wanting to influence MPs.
Back-bench discontent with Starmer is growing and well reported, but the largest Labour MPs’ group, with over 90 members, is the Starmer loyalist Labour Growth Group.
The group believes Starmer and Reeves can summon up “growth” via deregulation, avoiding the need to raise taxes on the better off to pay for public services.
In September the group announced a “partnership” with the Good Growth Foundation, a think tank run by Praful Nargund, the Labour candidate who lost to Jeremy Corbyn in the 2024 election.
The Labour Growth Group said the “research firepower” of Nargund’s think tank will help them think their pro-growth thoughts. The Good Growth Foundation has relied heavily on funds from Nargund’s mum (who made a fortune from her fertility clinic business).
However, it is seeking extra funds: its Christmas party, addressed by Cabinet Minister Emma Reynolds, was funded by lobbyists Teneo.
Thanks to its funding, Teneo’s UK CEO Lord Andrew Feldman was also a key speaker at the Good Growth Foundation Christmas bash.
Feldman is a Tory lord and former chairman of the Conservative Party, so this “partner” of Labour’s biggest back-bench grouping was happy to host a top Tory as key speaker in return for “sponsorship.”
One of Teneo’s leading lobbying clients is housebuilder Barratt Redrow. Labour’s “growth” plans rely heavily on offering builders like Barratt looser planning laws, hoping they will repay the favour with more housebuilding.
Those “growth“ plans also mean hoping deregulation will tempt banks into more investment. Handily, Teneo also represents HSBC.
The latest Electoral Commission returns show the Labour Growth Group itself also accepted £32,000 from lobbyists 5654 & Company last October. 5654, founded by former Michael Gove aide James Starkie, lobby for a number of housebuilders, including Galliard Homes, Cala Homes and Mulberry Developments. It also represents Heathrow, another company the government hopes will deliver “growth.”
The housebuilders, Heathrow and the banks are all getting favours from the Starmer government, while their representatives happily fund Labour-linked events. Whether this will actually deliver substantial “growth” is far from certain.
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