UK PM Burnham to meet business leaders to discuss growth

Standard Chartered

13/09/2026 22:30

LONDON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will meet the bosses of several major companies on Monday to discuss his plans to generate economic growth, his office said.
Burnham will host a reception with the chief executives of companies including banks HSBC HSBA.L and Standard Chartered STAN.L, oil majors BP BP.L and Shell SHEL.L, and telecom firms BT BT.L and Vodafone VOD.L.
He will say his plans for devolution can help deliver much-needed infrastructure and will look to support a culture shift to back innovation.
The meeting with the bosses of Britain's biggest energy companies follows a report Burnham is set to delay a decision on whether to bring the Shell-backed Jackdaw gas field online until after a parliamentary by-election next month.
Ahead of the reception, he will hold a roundtable with British entrepreneurs from the fields of fintech, AI, clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
Burnham's finance minister John Healey last week used his first major speech since taking office to set out a brighter vision for the economy before an annual budget where he faces tough tax and spending choices.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Joe Bavier)
((alistair.smout@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 7064; Reuters Messaging: alistair.smout.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net/))