Starmer aims to refocus attention on growth after the markets took a hit.

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will pledge on Monday to make Britain the “best government partner” for artificial intelligence companies in the world as he tries to boost UK growth against a grim economic and political backdrop.

Writing for the Financial Times, Starmer said Britain’s “values ​​of democracy, open trade and the rule of law” made the UK a natural place for AI companies to invest, and promised to remove planning restrictions and create new “AI growth zones”.

“I am determined that the UK will be the best place to start and scale an AI business,” he wrote. “I know that development in this area cannot be led by the government. But it is the government’s job to ensure that the right conditions are in place,” he said.

Starmer hopes to get back on the front foot after a week in which his economic plans were hit by markets, leaving Chancellor Rachel Reeves desperate to cut spending or raise taxes to keep her budget plans on track.

Reeves, who returned from a visit to China on Monday, this week “engaged” regulators to be more interested in removing barriers to growth.

Meanwhile, Starmer is approaching calls from the Tory leader of the Kemi Badlands. He dismissed the minister of the city, Tulip SiddiqueHer position remains precarious after being embroiled in a property scandal linked to the ousted Bangladeshi government.

Britain’s borrowing costs rose last week. Up to 16 years old Concerns that stagnant inflation and Reeves’ tax hike budget have contributed to slowing growth.

The economic gloom was reinforced by Deloitte’s survey of UK chief financial officers, which found business optimism fell to a two-year low in the fourth quarter.

The survey found that 26 percent of CFOs reported feeling more pessimistic about their business prospects three months ago, marking the first time sentiment has dipped into negative territory since the second quarter of 2023.

CFOs said cost-cutting could be their response to Reeves’ £25bn increase in employer national insurance contributions.

Deloitte said UK corporates are expected to cut capital spending, demand-focused spending and report the biggest drop in profits since the pandemic hit. However, the survey shows that confidence is above the lows seen in 2020 and 2022.

The embattled chancellor, Mel Stride, told the BBC that “business confidence is falling through the cracks as a result of the government’s actions” and insisted that Reeves should be scrapped. Her visit to China To stabilize the markets.

But one adviser to the chancellor said: “Is she serious when she says she had to cut short a trip to stay home at the weekend to deal with the closed market? It was seen as a shock by the markets,” he said.

Any suggestion that Starmer’s partner Reeves’ position is under threat is “absolute rubbish”.

Starmer remains confident that Reeves’ October budget, which sought to stabilize public finances and boost public services with a £40bn tax increase, will be passed in the long term despite the market turmoil.

Reeves is planning her own speech on growth, but it has been delayed after she leaves for the World Economic Forum in Davos later this month.

On Thursday, she will call eight supervisors to explain what they are doing to boost growth. in her Mansion House speech In the year “The UK has been managing risk but not growth,” she told regulators in November.