Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Labour has raised prices for a new series of business engagement events, with the £5,000 tickets costing over five times more than what guests paid for a similar event last year.
In an email to members of the Labour Business Network on Friday, the party said that tickets for the first event would cost £5,000 excluding VAT, up from the £995 paid for Labour’s “Annual Business Conference” last year.
The event on June 23, after the government spending review on June 11, includes a Q&A with chancellor Rachel Reeves, according to the email.
Labour said the “growth and innovation” series would include seven events in total, marking a change from February 2024’s one-day event when the party was in opposition.
The email said that buying a ticket did not guarantee a place, but the party would subsequently contact those selected to attend.
One senior lobbyist said the rise in ticket prices made it clear Labour was not “the party of business, but rather the party of businesses with very deep pockets”.
Elizabeth Tomlin, head of UK public affairs at H/Advisors Cicero, said prices for Labour events were “only going in one direction”, but added that “demand for ministerial engagement remains high, so businesses will pay”.
The email said event attendees would get the chance to help the party go “further and faster” to deliver economic growth, while getting the chance to hear from “the leaders of Labour’s key missions”, and “help remove blockages to change”.
Labour said it was “really looking forward to hosting the best business minds to discuss how we turbocharge growth across the country, which is the number one mission of this Labour government”.
Future events in the series will also include sessions on “tech and artificial intelligence”, “supporting SMEs” and “Britain’s place in the world”.
In addition to the events series, the party has also announced a revamped “business summit” at its 2025 conference, with the party also raising prices to £5,000 — up from £3,000 last year.
One Labour party official said the conference event would be longer, have a more extensive agenda and provide an “enhanced experience” for delegates to justify the price increase.
Some attendees at Labour’s September 2024 party conference business day, the first after it returned to power at the general election in July last year, complained they did not get enough access to top ministers.
