Britain hosts an international investment summit and denies snubbing Elon Musk

abcnews.go.com:

Britain’s new Labour Party government is announcing billions of pounds in investment in U.K. artificial intelligence, life sciences and infrastructure at a business summit

LONDON — Britain’s new Labour Party government is announcing billions of pounds in investment in U.K. artificial intelligence, life sciences and infrastructure on Monday at a business summit attended by executives from major international companies — though it was the absence of Elon Musk that made headlines.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer ’s center-left administration is eager to attract investment into Britain’s sluggish economy, and to convince corporations that its push to improve workers’ rights won’t come at the expense of businesses. It also needs to reassure trade unions, which are key Labour backers, that wooing business won’t come at workers’ expense.

Starmer told about 300 executives from banks, investment firms, pharmaceutical companies, tech firms and others that after several years of economic and political turmoil and “policy churn” under the Conservatives, Britain is once again a stable place for investors.

“This is the moment to back Britain,” he said, pledging to oversee a “hard-headed” industrial strategy and “galvanize growth” but slashing unnecessary regulation.

“We will rip up the bureaucracy that blocks investment,” Starmer said.

Unions worry that may mean lowering standards on health, safety and the environment, a claim the government denies. Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said reducing red tape did not mean “cutting corners or lowering standards, but making sure that the government takes on some of the burden of compliance, so that our nation can benefit.”

A sign of the tensions facing the government as it tries to please both