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\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tThursday 13 November 2025 1:53 pm
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\t\t\tThursday 13 November 2025 1:54 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
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Downing Street is in chaos and the economy has flatlined. Now, with just a couple of weeks to go until we find out what\u2019s really in Rachel Reeves\u2019 Budget, Britain\u2019s bosses are getting restless.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It used to be the case that Chancellor\u2019s went quiet in the run-up to a Budget, keeping their powder dry and their mouths shut \u2013 but now it seems Rachel Reeves gives a set piece weekly update on just how bad things are going to be.<\/p>\n
First there was the bizarre Downing Street speech in which she told the country that, 18 months into office, she\u2019s discovered everything\u2019s a right old mess and it\u2019s all the fault of previous governments and other countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t Then, earlier this week, she sat down with the BBC to explain that things are so bad there\u2019s a very good chance that she\u2019s going to have to break her manifesto promises not to raise the big taxes. \u201cI could stick to those promises,\u201d she said, \u201cbut then I\u2019d have to cut spending.\u201d And remember, no Labour chancellor comes into office to cut spending.\u00a0<\/p>\n The context for all this<\/a>, for the Budget, is an economy that grew 0.7 per cent in Q1, 0.3 per cent in Q2 and 0.1 per cent in Q3. The economy actually contracted in September.\u00a0<\/p>\n If you find all this deeply frustrating and more than a little worrying, you\u2019re not alone. Britain\u2019s business leaders are speaking out.<\/p>\n Bosses speak out as Budget looms<\/p>\n This week Simon Emeny, executive chair of Fuller\u2019s, one of the UK\u2019s biggest listed pub chains, said<\/a> the government needed \u201cnew ideas, new thinking\u201d if it is to live up to its ambition to grow the economy. \u201cI am frustrated by the lack of a clear plan to deliver the growth the Chancellor claims to be seeking,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Mark Carpenter, chief executive of car dealership Motorpoint, told City AM<\/a> that months of leaks and trails over which taxes the government might hike in the Budget \u201cis hugely unhelpful\u201d \u2013 and \u201cputting doubts into their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that \u201cit\u2019s not great if you\u2019re going into a Christmas period with everybody not sure how much money is in their pocket.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n And Jennie Daly, chief executive of the housebuilder Taylor Wimpy, said this week: \u201cMarket conditions remain challenging, impacted by uncertainty ahead of the upcoming UK Budget and continued affordability pressures.\u201d<\/p>\n Graham Bell, the boss of B&Q, told City AM this week that \u201cWhen people feel secure about the future, they invest in their homes, their skills, their communities and that\u2019s when the economy really starts to move.\u201d Clearly, we aren\u2019t in that position right now.<\/p>\n Last week, Sainsbury\u2019s boss Simon Roberts warned \u201cwhat we don\u2019t want to see is further impacts that may cause further inflation\u201d and in September, BT chief Allison Kirkby told City AM: <\/a>\u201cWe\u2019re already at peak government-inflicted costs.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n
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