- US says India has removed alleged agent in assassination plot
- Barca hit nine in Women's Champions League, Bayern overcome Juve
- Harris courts Trump-skeptic Republicans with Fox interview
- Global stock markets diverge as investors focus on earnings
- Worms and snails handle the pressure 2,500m below the Pacific surface
- Serena Williams has grapefruit-sized cyst removed from neck
- Lavreysen wins record-equalling 14th world cycling track title
- School's out! Argentina students study in the street to protest budget cuts
- Lower rates, surging stock market fail to ignite US IPO market
- Pogba 'willing to give up money' to stay at Juve
- Few countries have drawn up nature protection plans: UN
- Biden to make farewell trip to Germany as Ukraine war rages
- EU announces 30 mn euros to stem Senegal irregular migration
- Italy extends surrogacy ban to couples seeking it abroad
- Panama Canal crossings down 29 percent due to drought
- 'Clear indications' India violated Canada's sovereignty: Trudeau
- World champion Springboks to host Italy in 2025, Moerat to miss November tour
- Trump claims to be 'father of IVF' at all-female campaign stop
- WHO demands space to finish Gaza polio vaccination
- Mitchell left out of England squad for Autumn internationals
- Real Madrid back Mbappe amid Swedish rape investigation reports
- Middle East crisis top-of-mind at first EU-Gulf summit
- Israeli minister criticises Macron over France defence show ban
- Global stock markets diverge as markets focus on earmings
- Who said what on Tuchel's appointment as England manager
- Amazon bets on nuclear power to fuel AI ambitions
- Zelensky plan will be 'on table' at NATO talks this week: Rutte
- Harris steps into lion's den with Fox interview
- Macron riles Netanyahu with jab on Israel's creation
- Britain bounce back in America's Cup as New Zealand suffer
- Turkey shuts down radio station in Armenia genocide row
- Global stock markets diverge as tech fears linger
- Tuchel targets trophies as England manager
- War piles pressure on roads, services in crisis-hit Beirut
- Israeli booths, equipment barred from defence show in France
- Tuchel hopes to deliver 'missing trophies' to England
- England 239-6 in second Test after Sajid strikes for Pakistan
- Britain off the mark in America's Cup as New Zealand suffer
- Lufthansa fined 'record' $4 mn for barring Jewish passengers
- First migrants arrive in Albania under contested Italy deal
- Zelensky rules out ceding Ukrainian land in Victory Plan, urges NATO invite
- Global stock markets fall as tech fears weigh
- Musk's X escapes tough EU competition rules
- Thomas Tuchel: Abrasive but effective
- Root could break 16,000-run barrier, says England great Cook
- Indian airplane forced to divert after latest bomb hoax
- Tuchel 'has to' win World Cup for England, says Shearer
- Duckett half-century as England make brisk reply to Pakistan's 366
- Israel strikes Hezbollah strongholds after rejecting Lebanon ceasefire
- India issues flood warnings as rain pounds south
UK Labour touts pro-business shift as industry figures back party
The UK's Labour opposition vowed Tuesday to be both "pro-worker and pro-business" after winning the backing of 120 industry leaders as the party tries to oust the Conservatives in the upcoming general election.
In a speech at a Rolls Royce factory in central England, Rachel Reeves -- who is set to become finance minister if Labour wins power on July 4 -- argued it was now "the natural party" of business.
"I'm not one of those politicians that thinks that the private sector is a dirty word, or a necessary evil," Reeves, centre-left Labour's finance spokesperson since 2021, told an audience of business figures.
"I know that economic growth comes from success of business -- large, medium, and small. Indeed, there is no other way.
"I want to lead the most pro-growth, the most pro-business Treasury that our country has ever seen with a laser focus on delivering for working people."
Her speech came hours after the 120-strong coalition of CEOs and other senior business figures endorsed Labour in a joint letter, saying that it was "time for a change".
The grouping argued the UK economy had been "beset by instability, stagnation and a lack of long-term focus" and the country lacked "the skills and infrastructure it needs to flourish".
"Labour has shown it has changed and wants to work with business to achieve the UK's full economic potential," the letter published in The Times stated.
"We should now give it the chance to change the country and lead Britain into the future."
Its signatories include senior figures in various industries, from banking and advertising to retail and technology.
Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, and Tom Kerridge, the restaurateur, are among the notable names on the list.
- 'Foregone conclusion'? -
Labour has been at pains to show it has moved decisively away from a less business-friendly period under former leftist leader Jeremy Corbyn.
He presided over its worst election result in decades in 2019, and quit as leader soon after.
Corbyn's successor Keir Starmer and Reeves have spent the subsequent four years wooing business figures.
The Conservatives -- in power for 14 years -- have traditionally been more trusted by Britain's business community, but have seen that reputation dented post-Brexit.
Ex-prime minister Liz Truss's disastrous 49-day tenure in 2022, when her tax-cutting agenda spooked markets, has been blamed in particular for shredding confidence in the party's reputation for economic competency.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the election with the Tories lagging well behind Labour in the polls.
His campaign has made a faltering start, with a post-WWII record number of its MPs announcing they will not run and signs of infighting erupting into public view.
Also campaigning in central England Tuesday, Sunak touted the Conservatives' latest policy announcement, billed as a £2.4 billion ($3 billion) tax break for pensioners.
Older voters are typically far more likely to vote for his party, and have been protected from the country's crippling cost-of-living crisis in recent years more than others.
The policy follows the Tories announcing Sunday they will bring back a form of national service if they retain power, in an apparent bid to maintain the support of its disgruntled right-wing base.
In his stump speech Tuesday, Sunak sought to utilise his underdog status in the race while attacking his Labour rivals.
"(They) want you to think that this election is over. Well, you know what? I don't think this election is a foregone conclusion," he insisted.
Labour received a further boost Tuesday when police announced that deputy leader Angela Rayner would face no further police action over claims she avoided tax on the sale of her house several years ago.
Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey fell into Lake Windermere while paddle boarding as he outlined his fringe party's plans to tackle Britain's sewage crisis.
L.Harper--AMWN