Up until two weeks ago it seemed as if the chief topic of conversation at this week’s UKREiiF was likely to be the impact of the Iran conflict. While the war has rattled investors and driven up the price of energy and materials, it was barely mentioned at the three-day conference in Leeds.  

Instead, it was a newer crisis which stole the limelight, the prospect of another government collapsing mid-term and dragging businesses back into a fresh round of prolonged uncertainty.  

Fears that policies laid down by Keir Starmer over the past two years on tax, planning and capital expenditure could soon be ripped up shaped much of the chatter at the event.