Author Archives: GK Strategy

Starmer’s forced reshuffle won’t distract from the challenges ahead

Keir Starmer has a natural dislike for carrying out reshuffles, recognising the political damage they have caused for several of his predecessors. Reshuffles can end up creating more enemies than friends, and despite a working majority of over 150, Starmer will be only too aware that his personal approval rating is at its lowest ebb since the election last year.

While the timing of the reshuffle was far from ideal, the resignation of Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner for a failure to pay the correct amount of stamp duty forced his hand. Last week was originally billed as the second phase of the Labour government’s programme for change. If year one was about clearing up the Conservative mess, year two was supposed to be all about implementation and delivery. But no sooner than No.10 had announced its 2.0 reset, the government’s ethics adviser found Rayner in breach of the ministerial code, forcing Starmer onto the back foot and wrestling to regain the political narrative.

Emerging from the reshuffle were three themes. The first was the rise of Labour’s future leadership candidates. On the Blairite wing of the party is the immovable Wes Streeting at Health. With waiting times for elective care heading in the right direction and one of the best media performers in government, Streeting has embedded his position as one of the big beasts within the party. Another MP that has moved firmly centre stage is Shabana Mahmood. Applauded for her handling of the prison crisis shortly after Labour entered office, she has been rewarded with a big promotion to the Home Office. Mahmood is seen as part of Blue Labour – a movement within the party designed to promote policies that bring back working class ‘blue-collar’ communities to Labour. Mahmood has demonstrated she is willing to take a more radical approach to policy, and with the small boats at the top of the political agenda, she has been entrusted to stop the crossings and eliminate the asylum backlog.

The second theme thrown into stark relief by Rayner’s departure is the widening gap in the soft left of the Party. There is an opportunity for someone on this wing to pick up the baton as a future leadership candidate. Some of the candidates emerging on the soft left, including Bridget Phillipson, Louise Haigh and Emily Thornberry, have already thrown their hats into the ring to become the next Deputy Labour leader. This is a potential headache for Starmer, who used this reshuffle to secure positions for several Blairites within the Cabinet, and who won’t want a powerful counterpoint within the party creating unhelpful new powerbases. One to watch will be Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who is believed to want to return to Westminster politics at some point in the future. The deputy leadership race will run until 25 October, and all eyes will be on whether the internal party politics of the next six weeks create wider political difficulties for Starmer. The mood of the Parliamentary Labour Party will be under the spotlight, as will the success (or not) of No.10 and the Whips Office at party management.

The final theme to note is that Starmer has brought several experienced MPs back into government, and moved out some familiar faces. Ian Murray, former Secretary of State for Scotland, may be justified if he feels hard done by, having been shuffled out of government. During Labour’s years in opposition he was the only Labour MP in Scotland. In a sign of Starmer’s willingness to be ruthless when required, he has brought back veteran politician Douglas Alexander, who served in the cabinets of both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, to head up the Scotland brief. Another example is Emma Reynolds, who has been appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Reynolds was an MP between 2010 and 2019 and successfully ousted Conservative MP Steve Baker at the 2024 General Election to return to parliament. The experience of these senior politicians reflects Starmer’s commitment to focus on delivery.

After a difficult first year in government that saw the Prime Minister expend a significant amount of political capital, and with a challenging Budget ahead, Starmer will be acutely aware that his government must now deliver. Otherwise, there is a real risk that this period of labour in office could be viewed as a wasted opportunity.

Labour’s second year in office will be politically charged. Important pieces of legislation will be brought forward and new policy will be developed and introduced. This represents an opportunity for organisations to engage in the policy making process and have their voices heard. If you would like to discuss how best to achieve cut-through in a busy political environment, please do get in touch with GK Strategy’s expert team of political strategists and government relations experts.

Making the most of party conference season

GK Strategy is pleased to share its guide to effective engagement with policymakers during party conference season.

Insight from the GK team on making the most of party conferences can be accessed here: https://gkstrategy.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Engaging-at-Party-Conference-Season-GK-Strategy-September-2025.pdf

From the Dragons’ den to Defra’s: new government funding to boost agri-tech

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has launched a new £12.6 million funding package to support agri-tech innovation. It will be a ‘Dragons Den’-style process comprising two competitions. Forming part of the government’s Farming Innovation Programme, these competitions will reward the businesses that can offer the most innovative solutions to systemic challenges in the agricultural sector, such as rising costs and environmental pressures.

This initiative represents a progression of the government’s New Deal for Farmers and is a signal that agri-tech is a core component of its food security and rural growth strategy. Whilst the government has already pledged to allocate £11.8 billion to sustainable farming and food production over the next parliament, this additional funding arrives at a politically sensitive moment for the agricultural industry. The government’s relationship with the agricultural community has been tested during Labour’s first year in office, particularly following widespread backlash against the 2024 autumn budget’s proposed changes to inheritance tax. Against this backdrop, increased funding is not only an economic stimulus to encourage technological development, but also an attempt to reset the government’s political relationship with the agricultural sector. As a visible commitment to supporting innovation-led growth, it indicates that the government is listening to the sector’s demands for long-term solutions rather than short-term fixes.

The funding itself will be delivered through two competitions set to open from mid-September. The Small R&D Partnerships competition, launching on 15 September, will offer up to £7.8 million to support later-stage projects that are near commercial readiness. The strongest bids will be those that are able to demonstrate how their product or service will improve productivity, sustainability, progression, and resilience, as well as having a clear avenue to market upon. The second competition, allocating up to £4.8 million for early-stage ideas, will open on 13 October and is designed to assist developers in scaling up their project. Both competitions will be carried out in partnership with Innovate UK.

This is positive news for businesses in the agri-tech sector. The government is actively seeking to fund scalable, practical technologies that can solve the problems straining today’s agricultural sector. Rather than simply financing projects that are market-ready, the government is willing to fund the development of ideas. It solidifies the role that agri-tech plays in enhancing sustainability and boosting rural productivity via technological innovation.

Ultimately, this announcement acts as a timely reminder that agricultural innovation is recognised by the government as a mechanism for economic growth and as a frontier industry in the UK’s industrial strategy. As the government seeks to establish a balance between regulation, business support, and long-term agricultural resilience, initiatives like these will play a central role in shaping the next generation of British farming.

If you wish to discuss the government’s agri-tech policy or how to access this funding, please reach out to thea@gkstrategy.com.

No more nasties: The government stamps its feet on baby food

The Department of Health and Social Care recently unveiled a new set of voluntary guidelines aiming to enhance the nutritional quality of commercial baby foods. These set new expectations for manufacturers, retailers, trade associations and non-governmental healthcare organisations to reduce the sugar and salt content of baby food and address misleading labelling within the next 18 months.

This initiative is the latest intervention as part of the government’s ‘Plan for Change’ and its broader 10-year plan for health. Building upon previous HFSS measures, such as the ban on junk food advertisements restrictions on fast-food outlets near schools, it indicates a growing appetite to intervene to improve the nation’s dietary health. Childhood obesity rates have doubled since the 1990s and obesity currently costs the NHS £11.4 billion per year; this is expected to increase as obese children reach adulthood. In order to shape healthy eating habits as much as possible, policymakers are turning their focus to the formative stages of children’s diets. The rationale is straightforward: if a child’s very first diet is contributing to lifelong health problems, then meaningful change must begin from the highchair.

The evidence underpinning these guidelines is clear. Researchers from the University of Leeds have found that baby foods from market leaders lack nutritional value and market their products in a misleading way. All too often, these products are sugary, watery, and breed consumer confusion with misleading slogans like ‘contains no nasties’. The guidance also advises manufacturers not to market products aimed at children under twelve months of age as ‘snacks’, with NHS guidance for parents contending that children this young do not need to eat snacks.

For manufacturers and retailers alike, the challenge will be to reformulate at pace. With the use of sweeteners prohibited for all foods aimed at children aged three and under, and a market that values both taste and convenience, they will need to find new ways to meet nutritional needs whilst maintaining trust with parental consumers.

Though billed as voluntary, these guidelines represent a clear direction of travel for the government. Public health campaigners have already indicated that these recommendations represent a further step rather than the finish line, and the government has left the door open to mandatory regulation should uptake be slow or inconsistent. For businesses, the choice is binary: act now and shape the policy conversation, or risk playing catch-up if it was to become law.

The government’s strong stance on baby food is a clear signal of intent to improve the nutritional content of the nation’s diet. It forms part of a wider push by the government to encourage healthy eating habits, improve transparency between businesses and consumers and reduce the long-term economic burden on the NHS. Whilst this will result in short-term costs to businesses, there remains a real strategic opportunity to engage in the policy conversation. Businesses that position themselves early as genuine leaders in providing nutritional baby food can win the trust of both policymakers and increasingly health-conscious parents.

Webinar: the role of agri-tech in strengthening the UK’s food system

GK Strategy invites you to a webinar panel discussion on:
The National Food Strategy: the role of agri-tech in strengthening the UK’s food system

Keynote speakers:

Steve Brine
Strategic Adviser at GK Strategy and former health minister and chair of health and social care select committee

Honor May Eldridge
US and UK farming policy expert and former senior legislative advisor at the Food Standards Agency

Wednesday 22 October from 15:00 to 16:00

This event will held on Zoom.

Please RSVP by emailing events@gkstrategy.com for joining details.

Steve Brine is a Strategic Adviser at GK Strategy. He was Member of Parliament for Winchester from 2010-2024 and served in government as a Whip, public health minister and chaired the influential Health and Social Care Select Committee. Steve’s main interests include primary care, public health, NHS leadership and prevention of ill health as well as HIV, health tech and cancer. He also co-hosts the successful ‘Prevention is the new cure’ podcast and lives in Hampshire. He now works in the private sector as a health advisor and speaker and is a charity trustee.

Honor May Eldridge is a policy and advisory expert in food and environment impact, working to advise NGOs and businesses in the agriculture and food retail sectors. Her expertise spans international trade, climate-resilient agriculture, and food system transformation — always with an eye on equity and long-term viability. Honor was previously the Senior Legislative Advisor to the Food Standards Agency, working on how innovation can be delivered through regulation. She is currently working on two books on the future of food. She is also known for her wry appreciation of the avocado, having written her first book on the fruit that has, somewhat unfairly, borne the brunt of intergenerational debate. Once spotlighted as the unlikely culprit behind millennials’ housing woes, the avocado now serves as a symbol of Honor’s approach to food and farming policy: humble, misunderstood, and full of potential.

How can agri-tech prepare for the next parliamentary term?

MPs might be on their summer break but what can you be doing to prepare for the next parliamentary term?

August in Westminster is a quieter time. Government grinds to a halt as MPs return home to continue business back in their elected constituencies. This downtime in the political calendar grants companies a rare breathing space – and the opportunity to turn attentions to resetting government relations plans and preparing for the parliamentary year ahead.

Before parliament returns on 1 September, businesses should be taking the time to think about how to best prepare for the government’s second year in office. Although parliament is in recess, there’s still plenty we can be getting on with to develop an effective strategy and work towards policy objectives. From strengthening stakeholder engagement strategies to assessing regulatory risk, the planning taken now will make the crucial difference between scrambling to adapt to policy announcements and confidently navigating the next wave of policy decisions.

So, what should businesses be thinking about during these summer months?

Engaging with the civil service

While parliament draws to a close over the summer, the civil service remains central to ensuring the smooth operation of public services. Officials continue to work on the implementation of government policies, running consultations, and preparing for the legislative activity that is set to resume in the autumn.

For businesses, the absence of parliamentary activity offers a valuable opportunity to take stock of their existing relationships with civil servants, assess the strength of those channels of communication and identify where they could be expanded. Civil servants tend to be a bit quieter over summer too, so it’s the perfect time to catch up over a coffee in preparation for the year ahead.

Monitoring Parliamentary Committees

Similarly to the civil service, parliamentary committees continue their business while MPs are away. Staff continue to work behind the scenes, launching calls for evidence and meeting businesses in their sectors of interest. In recent weeks, we’ve seen a flurry of committee activity affecting the agri-tech space.

The Science, Innovation and Technology Committee have launched an inquiry into innovation and global food security, actively seeking to hear from agri-tech businesses about how new agricultural practices can catalyse food production. Each Committee’s reports, which are written using the evidence submitted to the inquiry, land directly on ministers’ desks – offering businesses the space to communicate exactly what they need from government to succeed.

Can we also add the health one here? One of the focuses of the health one is healthy food and many of the agri-tech businesses focus on improving nutritional content e.g. precision breeding.

Preparing for Party Conferences

The annual party conferences mark a significant moment in the political calendar. Taking place over September and October, each conference allows parties to set their political agenda and rally support from members and industry. For Labour as the governing party, this means actively listening to and engaging with businesses of all sizes to better understand their priorities, concerns, and capacity to contribute to the party’s core objective of economic growth. With agri-tech flagged as a frontier industry within the government’s industrial strategy, the party conference will provide a useful avenue for businesses within the sector to raise their profile with government.

For opposition parties, conferences are a critical space for developing and refining alternative policies that can challenge the government’s agenda. Without the responsibility of running departments day-to-day, opposition parties can use this time to strategise ideas that could credibly form the backbone of their next election manifesto.

Meeting with MPs

Although MPs are back in their constituencies during recess, they are not on officially out of office. During this time MPs turn their attentions to local priorities, such as meeting constituents, visiting community projects and engaging with businesses in their area. Businesses, and especially those developing cutting edge agricultural technology, should think about inviting MPs to visit their sites to see first-hand innovation in the sector. Demonstrating tangible contributions to local employment, food security, environmental sustainability, or economic growth can help MPs see how your business aligns with their constituents’ interests and supports the government’s wider priorities.

Building and strengthening relations with MPs is at the core of effective political engagement. An MP who understands your business and believes in its potential can be a powerful advocate by championing your work in parliament or connecting you with relevant ministers and officials.

Although the political pace of the parliamentary summer recess might feel slower, this is no time for businesses to wind down. Whether through strengthening relationships with civil servants, preparing for the party conference season, or engaging directly with MPs in their constituencies, the weeks remaining weeks until 1 September grant businesses the time to reassess their political engagement. Using this time productively will enable businesses to position themselves as constructive partners to government, trusted to feed into the conversations that will shape Labour’s next year in office and beyond.