If Labour is committed to championing ‘working people’, the British state must mediate between workers and capital, rejecting corporate dominance

Keir Starmer speaking at the investment summit at Guildhall, London, 14 October. Photograph: EPA

Sir Keir Starmer’s pro-business stance signalled to voters that Labour has shifted from the days of Jeremy Corbyn. However, expectations of a Labour government – equality, fairness, and social justice – remain. Voters wouldn’t be impressed by ministers arguing for freedom from regulations that protect against unscrupulous companies seeking to maximise profit at the cost of public harm.

Most people understand that businesses seek fewer restrictions to boost profits, often at the expense of society’s other stakeholders. Perhaps that’s why Sir Keir mentioned “the tragedy of Grenfell Tower” at the government’s summit for international investors, only to then champion the removal of “red tape” that he claims hinders investment and growth.

Yet Downing Street’s actions tell a different story. Sir Keir publicly reprimanded his transport secretary, Louise Haigh, after P&O Ferries’ Gulf emirate-owned parent company threatened to cancel a £1bn investment in an Essex container port. Her “offence”? Criticising the company for its 2022 mass sacking of 800 workers without notice. Instead of standing by Ms Haigh, and the government’s important employment bill, the prime minister folded at the first sign of corporate displeasure.

Politics is inherently a contest of competing interests, yet Sir Keir seems naive in believing that problems can be “solved” without confrontation. His government has given the green light for the expansion of London’s Stansted airport. This may create jobs, but passenger jets significantly contribute to the climate crisis. Even the government’s own green advisory committee warns that “no airport expansions should proceed” without a clear plan to manage the environmental impact. Ministers have yet to address this contradiction adequately, beyond the vague assertion that economic growth is good for Britain. But that explanation falls short.

Sir Keir campaigned on a platform of change. Contrary to his pledges, however, his policies in this area appear to be a continuation of Tory ones. In 2014 the Treasury placed such a premium on “investor confidence” that it set aside £40bn in public cash guarantees to help those projects that struggled “to access private finance”. A 2016 National Audit Office report criticised such schemes for transferring “risk to the public sector”. Last year Rishi Sunak unveiled £30bn of global inward investment. This year Labour claim to have doubled that amount.

From railways to healthcare to children’s homes, a lack of public investment has let private interests seize the advantage to run services and siphon taxpayer funds offshore. What’s needed is well-funded state intervention and robust regulation. But Labour wants asset managers such as the US giant BlackRock to rebuild Britain. The government argues that the state doesn’t have the money to fix the UK’s creaking infrastructure and must go cap in hand to the private sector if it wants to avoid austerity or raising taxes.

Labour has an opportunity to reshape the country away from dominance by private and selfish interests. The erosion of the importance of fiscal policy and social protections has weakened democracy, allowing a wealthy minority to gain disproportionate influence. If Sir Keir is committed to championing “working people”, the British state must reassert its role as a mediator between workers and capital, rejecting corporate dominance. Labour should embrace bold, transformative policies that place the public good above private profit. Otherwise the party risks losing the trust of the very voters it aims to represent.