Just last week, I wrote that business confidence remains under significant pressure and that the recess should not become an opportunity for a steady stream of policy announcements without the scrutiny that Parliament provides. Subscribe to Read All About It!
Instead, No.10 has responded with a flurry of early morning press releases.
Let's take them individually.
Labour's announcement on cutting VAT on domestic electricity bills is welcome, but serious questions remain about how this will be funded in the long term. Ministers must be upfront with families and businesses about the costs of their plans and how they will be paid for.
The Conservatives have a plan to cut household electricity bills by £200 and reduce business electricity bills by 20%, funded by scrapping costly net zero subsidies and tackling the policy costs that continue to push up energy prices. This is the difference between a short-term intervention and a long-term plan to deliver cheaper, more secure energy.
Tackling the high cost of living must remain a priority, but announcements must be matched by credible funding plans. The Conservatives have always believed that supporting households and businesses must go hand in hand with responsible public finances.
Labour's announcement to restore the bus cap to £2 will be welcomed by passengers, but it is worth remembering that this simply returns the cap to the level that existed when Labour inherited it from the Conservatives back in 2024.
Labour's announcement to cut business rates for pubs, clubs, and live music venues by 20% from April 2027 is also welcome. Any reduction in costs for struggling businesses is a positive step.
However, for many firms, this will do little to offset the wider pressures they continue to face from higher taxes, rising employment costs, and increased regulation. After years of uncertainty, businesses need stability, confidence, and a government that understands how growth is really created.
The Conservatives are the only party with a properly costed and funded plan to abolish business rates altogether for thousands of high street businesses, providing a genuine lifeline for the retail, hospitality, and leisure sectors. These businesses are the backbone of many communities and provide young people with vital opportunities to gain important skills and experience.
They may have a new Leader, but they face the same old problem: Labour still isn't working for small business.
Too few ministers have direct experience of running a business, meeting payrolls, or creating jobs in the private sector. Too often, this government appears to see businesses as a source of revenue rather than as the engine of growth, investment, and opportunity.
Britain is a great country, and our focus must be on tackling the major challenges we face - from economic growth and competitiveness to our national security.
The future of UK defence, for example, depends on the strength of our small and medium-sized businesses. SMEs are driving innovation, strengthening supply chains, and creating highly skilled jobs across the country. From AI to dual-use tech to advanced manufacturing, smaller firms provide the speed, agility, and expertise that larger defence companies often struggle to replicate.
So, this autumn, we will host an SME Defence Roundtable to discuss how we can better support the smaller businesses that play such a vital role in our national capability.
If that is within your area of interest, I would be delighted to hear from you. Contact me.
