![\"Simon](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Simon-Wolfson.jpg\")
\t\tLord Wolfson urged Labour to cut spending and not hike taxes\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tThursday 17 September 2026 2:27 pm
\n\t\t\t\t\t\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Updated:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\t\t\tThursday 17 September 2026 2:58 pm\n\t<\/p>\n
\t\tLord Wolfson urged Labour to cut spending and not hike taxes\t<\/p>\n
Lord Wolfson, Next\u2019s chief executive, has urged Chancellor John Healey to cut spending at next month\u2019s Budget, warning, \u201cyou can\u2019t spend your way out of a funding crisis\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The retail boss<\/a> has urged the government to clamp down on spending, avoid further tax hikes and slash planning red tape to boost economic growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n He told the media on Thursday: \u201cThe only things that will really change the long-term trajectory [of the economy] are [the] government getting its spending under control and boosting supply-side measures.\u201d<\/p>\n Wolfson, who has helmed Next<\/a> for 25 years, added: \u201cYou can\u2019t spend your way out of a funding crisis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n As the October Budget approaches, retail bosses have ramped up pressure on the government to reform business rates and cut employment costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Wolfson said Labour cannot afford any more tax cuts and should instead focus on cutting spending and commit only to supply-side measures that won\u2019t require more funding. \u201cThe UK government is forecast to spend over \u00a3100bn more than its income this year, and has little room to increase its borrowing,\u201d Wolfson wrote in Next\u2019s half-year results<\/a> on Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo there is little or no room for the Government to stimulate growth through spending or alleviate inflationary costs in fuel and energy. [\u2026] There are only two effective ways out of this predicament: control spending or boost growth, preferably both.\u201d<\/p>\n Wolfson told reporters that asking Labour for tax cuts would be too \u201cstrong,\u201d adding that business should instead hope for the tax burden \u201cnot to go up more\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAny organisation cannot carry on spending significantly more than its income and, in one way or another, that problem has to be addressed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tRetailers urge Healey to unwind national insurance hike to boost jobs<\/a><\/p>\n Earlier this week, former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane accused<\/a> Andy Burnham of presiding over a \u201ctraditional tax and spend socialist government with better TikTok videos\u201d.<\/p>\n The Prime Minister hit back at Haldane, his former unofficial adviser, claiming that he is prepared to take difficult decisions at what will be a \u201cchallenging\u201d Budget for British households.<\/p>\n Wolfson said the government could boost economic growth by slashing the red tape around building regulations, biodiversity rules and archaeological restrictions, which is \u201cholding us back\u201d.\u00a0 \u201cI think releasing that pent-up demand would do a lot to boost growth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Leave high streets alone, Wolfson says<\/p>\n Lord Wolfson also defended the natural \u201cevolution\u201d of the high street, amid criticism of Andy Burnham\u2019s plans to revive UK high streets by cracking down on gambling and vape shops and cutting business rate bills for pubs.<\/p>\n Frasers Group founder Mike Ashley has dismissed<\/a> Burnham\u2019s high street policies as \u201cpopulist,\u201d while JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin said<\/a> it is \u201cnot up to\u201d the Prime Minister to choose what is on the high street.\u00a0<\/p>\n Asked about Burnham\u2019s high street plans, Wolfson said: \u201cThe most important thing that the government could do for British high streets is to let them develop.\u00a0\u201cDon\u2019t try to decide \u2018this should be a shop and that should be a restaurant and this should be a pub\u2019. Just let the market do its work and transform British high streets into what people most want.\u201d<\/p>\n