6 days ago
Labour axes £5,000-a-ticket Reeves fundraiser after ‘low demand'
Labour has postponed a £5,000-a-head business conference that was meant to showcase the party's 'plan to kick-start economic growth', with some citing a lack of demand.
The event, due to be held on June 23, was advertised as the start of a 'first of its kind' series of events giving bosses a 'unique opportunity to engage' with figures such as the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds.
However, the party confirmed that it had now been postponed. The Financial Times — which first revealed the story — reported that business advisers had been told that there had been low demand.
Labour has often boasted of high attendance at its business events as proof that the party has the backing of bosses. Last year, a business day at its national party conference, which cost £3,000 a head, sold out within 24 hours. The Times revealed that some executives later considered asking for a refund after a 'bleak' event that was a 'waste of money'.
An event at the Oval cricket ground in London earlier in the year sold out within minutes and was attended by some of the most powerful bosses in Britain, as well as Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister.
One invitee for this month's now-postponed event told the Financial Times that it was being held because the business summit at Labour's 2025 national conference had sold out. The price of that rose from £3,000 last year to £5,000 this year.
A Labour Party spokesperson said: 'This event has been postponed — information regarding future events will be communicated in due course. The Labour Party regularly engages with a wide range of stakeholders and events are frequently scheduled throughout the year that receive a high level of interest as the party continues to support the important work of change the country voted for last year.'
Asked about the event during a visit to a bus manufacturer in Rochdale on Wednesday, Reeves said: 'I think it's well known that I regularly meet British businesses in my capacity as chancellor, as a local MP and when I'm on visits around the country, as I am doing right now at this great bus company in Rochdale.'
