UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer vows to slash regulatory red tape in bid to boost investment

LONDON — The U.K.'s Labour government said Monday that it had secured £63 billion ($82 billion) in fresh investment at the close of a summit aimed at wooing overseas capital.

Finance Minister Rachel Reeves hailed the "shovel ready" spending commitments — from companies including Blackstone, MacQuarie, Iberdrola, Amazon Web Services, ServiceNow and Eli Lilly — which she said would create almost 40,000 new jobs across the country.

"We are bringing investment and jobs back to this country. Britain is open for business again," she said during closing remarks at the summit.

The announcement comes after Prime Minister Keir Starmer earlier on Monday vowed to slash regulatory red tape to boost anemic investment in the country.

"We've got to look at regulation across the piece, and where it is needlessly holding back investment ... mark my words, we will get rid of it," he told delegates at the government's inaugural International Investment Summit, held at London's Guildhall.

"It's time to upgrade the regulatory regime. We will rip up the bureaucracy that blocks investment," he added.

Starmer did not say exactly which regulations would be changed. However, the government said in a statement that it was "reviewing the focus" of major regulators, with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in particular being charged to "prioritise growth, investment, and innovation."

The regulatory overhaul is just one part of the Labour Party's plans to place Britain at the forefront of emerging opportunities.

Last week, it launched a new Regulatory Innovation Office to reduce the burden of red tape for businesses working on "game-changing" technologies. Meanwhile, ministers have been introducing changes to the planning system to boost new building