Labour’s employment legislation and national insurance blamed for rising joblessness February 17, 2026 National insurance hikes and the employment rights act mean businesses are being forced to cut back on hiring, business leaders and analysts have said. The labour market continued to loosen at the end of last year, according to new Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, with unemployment climbing to 5.2 per cent between October and [...]
Andy Haldane: Labour has ‘no nose for business’ January 26, 2026 The Labour government lacks anyone with a “nose for business”, Andy Haldane, the former chief economist of the Bank of England, has said in his latest critique against ministers’ quest for growth. Haldane, whose criticism of Budget leaks last year added to pressure on Rachel Reeves, has taken aim at ministers leading Labour’s growth mission [...]
Firms warned to make ‘contingency plans’ amid £6bn tariff hit January 19, 2026 Businesses across the UK have been warned to draw up “contingency plans” in case President Trump follows through on imposing 10 per cent tariffs on imports from major European economies next month. British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) director general Shevaun Haviland warned businesses to prepare for the worst as the impact of US tariffs on [...]
UK exports forecast downgraded as Labour fails to kickstart trade December 11, 2025 British export growth will fall by almost half next year, a business forecaster has said, with Labour’s string of deals failing to improve hopes of a revival in international trade. The Labour government has made trade a key lever to boost growth prospects, using new deals with the likes of the EU and India to [...]
Exclusive: Industry chiefs warn Reeves not to hit business after income tax U-turn November 14, 2025 The Chancellor must not rely on businesses to plug the gaping fiscal gap left by Thursday’s income tax U-turn, a group of industry body chiefs has warned a year after UK firms were forced to stomach much of the £40bn of tax hikes at Labour’s maiden Budget. In an unusual combined intervention, bosses from five [...]
Business leaders ramp up pre-Budget lobby efforts amid tax fears October 20, 2025 Business chiefs are ramping up efforts to sway Chancellor Rachel Reeves ahead of this year’s Budget as fears are mounting that fresh tax hikes could squeeze profits at firms up and down the UK. A series of letters written by heads of trade bodies have landed on the Chancellor’s desk over the last week, with [...]
Andy Haldane elected president of British Chambers of Commerce October 15, 2025 Andy Haldane has been elected the new president of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), succeeding the serial entrepreneur and business doyenne Baroness Lane Fox. The central banking veteran, who spent eight years on the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, was chosen to head up the business lobby group by representatives of its chamber [...]
Tax fears heat up as firms ‘not ready for another Budget battering’ October 10, 2025 Tax fears across businesses in the UK are bubbling up, a leading survey has indicated, as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is warned that firms are “not ready for another Budget battering” later this year. The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)’s survey has shown that business confidence remains in a fragile state amid nerves that another damaging [...]
Exclusive: Peter Kyle says Employment Rights critics ‘come from certain educational backgrounds’ October 2, 2025 Business secretary Peter Kyle has dismissed critics of the Employment Rights Bill as people on an “above average income” and those who have not had an “ordinary experience in the economy”. Labour’s workers’ rights package has faced staunch opposition from CEOs as well as top business groups including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and [...]
Retail body warns against tax hikes amid ‘nightmare’ inflation September 30, 2025 Britain’s largest retail business group has warned the Treasury that further tax hikes on businesses will keep shop prices “higher for longer”, after data showed food inflation in September remained at its highest levels since the height of the cost-of-living crisis. British Retail Consortium (BRC) chief executive Helen Dickinson said even if the Chancellor chooses [...]