Labour Seeks Investment Minister After Party Favorite Pulls Out
(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Keir Starmer is scrambling to find an investment minister after the Labour government’s first choice pulled out because the role would have required him to make costly changes to his own business ties, according to people familiar with the matter.
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Global Counsel Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, who co-founded the political advisory firm with fellow Blair government veteran Peter Mandelson, had been in line for the key job of securing private capital to support Starmer’s ambitious growth goals, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing internal personnel matters. His withdrawal has prompted government officials to call senior private sector figures for advice on whom to hire, one of the people said.
Wegg-Prosser didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment on Tuesday. The Treasury directed inquires to the prime minister’s office. No. 10 sidestepped questions about Wegg-Prosser, saying the government’s International Investment Summit next month would help deliver its mission to boost growth.
Global Counsel has been engaged in potentially lucrative tie-up talks with the Messina Group, an American public relations firm led by Jim Messina, a deputy chief of staff to former US President Barack Obama. The Messina Group took a 20% stake in Global Counsel in April that valued it at about £30 million ($39 million), the Financial Times reported at the time, citing people close the transaction. Wegg-Prosser and Mandelson together own at least half of the firm.
Wegg-Prosser worked for Mandelson in the early days of Tony Blair’s “New Labour” government and returned to serve as director of strategic communications for the then-prime minister from 2005 to 2007. He backed the Labour Tomorrow campaign group that opposed Starmer’s predecessor as Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, and advised the party ahead of its landslide election win on July 4.
His rejection of the role leaves Starmer without a key standard-bearer ahead of the investment summit planned for Oct. 14 in London. The minister sits in the Office for Investment and provides a concierge service for big foreign investors money to help keep the UK competitive.
The National Infrastructure Commission has said that the UK needs to increase annual private sector investment by one-quarter over the next decade to £40 billion to £50 billion “to enable the government to meet its climate and other obligations.” The calculation was made before Labour, which has even bigger ambitions, took power.
“The summit will bring together business leaders from around the world to advance opportunities for our national mission of growth,” a government spokesperson said. “Work is taking place across government to deliver the summit.”
Wegg-Prosser was the first choice of Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, the people familiar with the investment minister search said. He had been talking to Starmer’s chief of staff, Sue Gray, about taking up the investment minister role, they said.
Past occupants have tended to be investment bankers or business leaders, including former Barclays Plc Deputy Chairman Gerry Grimstone and ex-Financial Times Group Chief Executive Officer Rona Fairhead. The government is considering a couple of alternative candidates, one of the people said.
Global Counsel was set up in 2010 to provide political and regulatory advice to business. Besides London, it has operations in Berlin, Brussels, Doha, Singapore and Washington.
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