![\"Shevaun](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/The-British-Chambers-of-Commerce-boss-Shevaun-Haviland.jpg\")
\t\tBCC boss, Shevaun Haviland has intervened on growth policy.\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tTuesday 18 August 2026 11:13 am\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tBCC boss, Shevaun Haviland has intervened on growth policy.\t<\/p>\n
The boss of Britain\u2019s largest industry body has warned the government that \u201cresilience alone\u201d would not boost growth in the UK, firing the starting gun on two months of policy lobbying ahead of a pivotal Autumn Budget.<\/p>\n
Writing exclusively for City AM, the boss of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)<\/a> has urged the government to cut costs for businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shevaun Haviland said that business owners were questioning the Labour government\u2019s reliance on building resilience as they are \u201casking whether it was all worth it\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe need policymakers to stop adding to the cost stack and start taking layers away,\u201d Haviland wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOctober\u2019s Budget will be a pivotal moment and our message is simple: back business, cut costs [and] deliver growth.\u201d<\/p>\n The BCC, which represents tens of thousands of firms up and down the country, has recently sounded the alarm on the \u201ccost of business crisis\u201d facing the UK economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n Calculations by the group suggest that government policies on the living wage, pension auto-enrolment and employment taxes<\/a> have led costs for mid-sized businesses to rise by over 75 per cent in a decade.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Firms are ramping up lobbying efforts before a difficult Budget for the new Chancellor, John Healey.\u00a0<\/p>\n AI should be \u2018growth priority\u2019<\/p>\n Healey is set to be charged with easing cost of living pressures for households, implementing devolution reforms and sticking by his own demand to hike defence spending to three per cent of GDP by 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n The series of spending pledges made by Andy Burnham has raised concern among industry chiefs and City investors that the government could raise taxes again. The consultancy Capital Economics estimated that some \u00a325bn could be raised in additional government revenue later this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tDomestic policies are choking UK businesses<\/a><\/p>\n Speculation around bank taxes and capital reliefs have put firm owners on edge, though separate research has suggested that UK firms have become optimistic about AI prospects.\u00a0<\/p>\n A survey by Lloyds Bank found that more than half of businesses said AI had created new jobs. Of around 58 per cent of businesses telling data collectors at the bank that they would increase investment in AI to upskill their workforce, about 42 per cent said they would spend between \u00a325,000 and \u00a3125,0000 this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Another 26 per cent of the majority said they would spend between \u00a3100,000 and \u00a3250,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n A separate report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Oliver Wyman also suggested that firms were hoping that the government made AI a \u201cnational workforce priority\u201d. CBI boss Rain Newton-Smith said the future of the UK economy would be partly determined by \u201chow quickly we can put [AI] to work at scale\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n