Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt set to attend UK international investment summit
Labour hopes the gathering will encourage a fresh injection of private money to drive its growth agenda
The former Google boss Eric Schmidt has been named as one of the high-profile executives attending the Labour government’s first international investment summit.
Schmidt, who was Google’s chief executive from 2001 to 2011, is expected to play a prominent role at the summit in central London on 14 October, where he will take the stage in conversation with Keir Starmer.
The prime minister is hoping the summit will send a clear signal to investors that Britain under Labour is open for business and encourage a fresh injection of private money to drive his growth agenda.
The government said other confirmed speakers included the current president of Google’s owner Alphabet, Ruth Porat; the chief executive of the Canadian investment firm Brookfield Asset Management, Bruce Flatt; and the boss of UK self-driving car technology startup Wayve, Alex Kendall.
Technology is likely to be a key focus of the summit, but the Tesla boss and owner of X, Elon Musk, has not been invited after his controversial social media posts during August’s riots in England.
Musk took centre stage in November last year at a UK summit on AI, where the then Conservative prime minister, Rishi Sunak, played the role of a chatshow host and flattered the entrepreneur during a 40-minute conversation.
Musk has endorsed Donald Trump in the upcoming US election and appeared alongside him on Saturday at the site in Butler, Pennsylvania where Trump narrowly escaped assassination in July.
Commenting on Labour’s investment summit, Schmidt said: “When the UK hosted the first global summit on AI safety, the country displayed its commitment to being a leader in responsible innovation. Now, it has the opportunity to go even further and articulate a vision for the future where the UK is a hub for world-class talent.
“I’m looking forward to discussing with the prime minister how we can drive even greater investment in research and education to ensure the UK stays at the forefront of these technological breakthroughs.”
Labour hopes the event will be a boost for investment in the UK two weeks before the budget on 30 October.
Some business leaders at Labour’s annual conference in Liverpool last month complained, however, that the summit was ill-timed, coming two weeks before the budget when key government policies would still be unknown. Those include spending priorities and potential changes to taxes, including inheritance tax and business rates.
Labour sources told the Guardian last month that the government would not be ready to announce its industrial strategy before the summit – a policy business chiefs have said will be important for steering investment in the economy. A green paper is expected to be published alongside the budget to consult on its proposals before a full launch of the final plan early next year.
The party pledged in the general election campaign to host the summit within the first 100 days of winning power to show that the UK would be “open for business” under a new government.
The summit is sponsored by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, M&G plc, Octopus Energy and TSL.
Barclays’ chief executive, CS Venkatakrishnan, said the summit was an opportunity for the government to “build further investor confidence based on its priorities for driving UK economic growth. The UK’s stability, skills and history of innovation make it an attractive investment destination.”
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