FSB calls for a ‘risk-taking’ attitude from government to boost small businesses August 31, 2023 British business organisations are calling for a tech revolution and pushing the government to supercharge economic growth. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has sounded the clarion call for the government to foster a “risk-taking” attitude and give small enterprises a leg up as they stumble over the high cost of adopting new technologies. The [...]
High street banks pull back from SME lending despite increasing demand August 30, 2023 Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are finding it increasingly difficult to access funding from high street banks, new data out today shows. According to data from fintech firm iwoca, 84 per cent of finance brokers said high street banks were increasingly reluctant to lend to SMEs. This was seven percentage points more than the quarter [...]
Labour to water down gig economy pledges in business vote bid: reports August 18, 2023 Labour have watered down protections for workers’ rights in a bid to woo big business, it has been reported Sir Keir Starmer has rolled back his plans to create a single category of ‘worker’ for all but those genuinely self-employed, which was intended to secure “rights and protections” for all. But at the party’s national [...]
Small business confidence slumps amid rising rates and stubborn inflation July 26, 2023 Confidence among small businesses slumped in the second quarter as the impact of rising rates and a stalling economy hit SMEs. The Federation of Small Business’s (FSB) Small Business Index fell to minus 14.2 points in the second quarter, down 11.4 points in the first quarter of the year. The fall in confidence reflects the [...]
‘He doesn’t like women’: Tory hopeful Susan Hall gets personal in bid to unseat Sadiq Khan July 17, 2023 With three by-elections approaching, the race between the now-two Tory hopefuls vying to take on Sadiq Khan in the 2024 mayoral election has taken something of a backseat. But following the exit of former No10 advisor Daniel Korski, the odds have shortened for both those standing. Former Conservative group leader in the London Assembly Susan [...]
‘Lean in’ to artificial intelligence, education secretary urges firms June 29, 2023 Businesses need to “lean in” to the power of artificial intelligence (AI), education secretary Gillian Keegan has said. The education secretary told City A.M. indulging in fears about AI wiping out jobs and opportunities was unproductive. Asked whether she was concerned about the impact of the new technology such as ChatGPT and Bard altering or [...]
CBI: New boss Rain Newton-Smith refuses to budge on membership figures before exodus June 13, 2023 The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is still insisting on keeping its prior membership figures under wraps in the wake of a scandal which saw it face a fight for its very future. CBI director-general Rain Newton-Smith refused to disclose the number of members her organisation had boasted prior to a sexual harassment crisis which [...]
CBI: Rishi Sunak refuses to say business body will be back in the room June 7, 2023 The Confederation of British Industry survived a confidence vote on its future yesterday, after members voted in favour of the scandal-hit lobbying organisation’s transformation plan. However, overnight the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak suggested that may not be enough for the body to be invited back into key meetings on business policy with the government. Matters [...]
Is the CBI is “finished”? City grandee and AJ Bell chair Baroness Morrissey says so April 25, 2023 The crisis-hit CBI is “finished” after the organisation admitted it failed to sack workers who sexually harassed female colleagues, City boss Baroness Helena Morrissey has said. Firms have deserted the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) in their droves after two rape allegations and a series of claims of a toxic work culture surfaced, reported by [...]
Analysis: Sunak’s cringey love-in reminds us he’s a PM who wants to ‘do business’ April 25, 2023 There was no lectern for Rishi Sunak at the Business Connect conference. Striding across the stage at the glossy King’s Place venue in Islington, the PM was happily, confidently, on home turf; his equivalent of Starmer’s efforts to channel his inner toolmaker. While it was a slick suit and tie, as opposed to shirt sleeves [...]