Stars of the business world shine at The Sunday Times Business party

With Labour’s budget still fresh in the minds of many business bigwigs, there was a whiff of rebellion in the air at this year’s Sunday Times business party, held at Claridge’s in Mayfair.
Lord (Stuart) Rose, the chairman of Asda, summed it up best with a not-so sly dig at Labour’s plan to make businesses stump up more in national insurance contributions. “The Treasury have been asking me to come in for a meeting,” he said. “I’ve said I’m too busy trying to find a hundred million quid.”
And Kemi Badenoch’s Tories were out to take advantage, while enjoying champagne and canapés at the do, sponsored by consulting firm AlixPartners.
Delivering the keynote speech, Badenoch called out business secretary Jonathan Reynolds to congratulate him on his “good work turning the Department for Business and Trade into the Department for Unions and Strikes”.
Attendees included Aviva boss Dame Amanda Blanc, NatWest chair Rick Haythornthwaite, M&S chair Archie Norman, Soho House founder Nick Jones and Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts. There were also some notable appearances from the public sector. Richard Meddings, the former banker and outgoing chair of NHS England, was there, as was Nikhil Rathi, the Financial Conduct Authority boss rumoured to be a candidate to take charge of the Civil Service.
Tim Davie, the BBC director-general, was chatty until he was asked who might be the next Match of the Day host. “Nice try,” he chuckled, before darting to the other side of the room.
Among the last standing was Mel Stride, Badenoch’s shadow chancellor. On his way out, he was accosted by one partygoer who hugged him, told him he was a “wonderful man” and, er, congratulated him on the success of the business he runs.
Stride, rather awkwardly, had to disappoint his well-wisher by admitting that he was in fact merely the shadow chancellor.