SME4Labour 4th Annual gala dinner

After 18 months of challenges from Covid-19, SME4Labour hosted the 4th Annual Gala Dinner with a host of senior Labour figures to celebrate the best small business and community work at a gala awards ceremony. Guests and supporters of SME4Labour were joined by special guests including Angela Rayner MP, Labour General Secretary David Evans and London mayor Sadiq Khan to recognise the work carried out by innovative small and medium-sized enterprises and success in the Labour Excellence Awards.

Hosted by SME4Labour, guests heard from speakers from industry; Lord Karan Bilimoria (President of the CBI & Chairperson of Cobra Beer) and Ben Lawson (Vice-president for Mobility at Enterprise, as well as Labour MP’s Anneleise Dodds, Rachel Reeves, Ed Miliband, David Lammy and Angela Rayner. David Evans, General Secretary of the Labour Party gave a speech which addressed Labour’s promise to listen to small businesses and serve their needs from the Labour movement, inviting those outside of the party to speak to Labour.

SME4Labour’s flagship event takes place each November and is hosted by Co-chairs Ibrahim Dogus and Sonny Leong MBE at the Park Plaza hotel in Westminster.

The Labour Excellence Awards, hosted alongside the gala dinner, highlighted the work of the most successful trade unions, shadow cabinet ministers, MPs, peers, councils and party affiliates.

Winners included:

• Labour Socialist society of the year: Jewish Labour
• MP of the year: Yvette Cooper MP
• Labour Shadow Cabinet member of the year: Rachel Reeves MP
• London Labour Assembly Member of the year: Leonie Cooper AM
• Labour member of the Senedd of the year: Vaughan Gething MS
• Labour Elected Mayor of the Year: Andy Burnham
• Labour Councillors of the Year: Cllr Sharon Thompson & Cllr Tarik Khan
• CLP of the year: Tottenham CLP
• Labour MSP of the Year: Jackie Baillie MSP

Organiser, host & co-chair of SME4Labour Ibrahim Dogus said before the event:

“Our innovative SMEs are the lifeblood of the real economy while Labour councils, party groups and trade unions represent the very best of our commitment to public services and providing opportunity for the many.”

“Over the last 18 months they have all faced an unprecedented set of challenges caused by Covid-19 and multiple lockdowns.”

“Just as they came together, however, to support our communities, then we will come together for one evening to honour their work.”

Supporters of the dinner included Community Union, Enterprise Cars, Galliard Homes, CIMA, South East Asians for Labour, Kurds for Labour, Labour Business, Unite the Union, GMB Union and Tamils for Labour alongside LabourList as the media partner.

A video of the event, as well as all the speeches delivered across the night can be viewed on the SME4Labour YouTube channel. Photos are available here.

The 5th Annual SME4Labour dinner is due to take place on Monday 31st October 2022 with guest of honour Keir Starmer alongside Shadow Cabinet members, Labour Mayors & MPs and many more guests from across the party and small and medium enterprises.

Tickets for this event can be purchased now.