Yet that is the weird situation Keir Starmer faces this week at the Labour conference in Liverpool. Business, which Starmer wooed assiduously before the general election in July last year, is in a particularly mutinous mood. A so-called 'business day' at last year's Labour conference drew criticism after corporate delegates were charged £3,000 to attend, only to be denied access to cabinet ministers. So this year's conference — and his speech today to the party faithful — is an opportunity for Starmer to turn the page. British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves speaks to media prior to her speech on day two of the Labour Party conference at ACC Liverpool on September 29, 2025 in Liverpool, England.