UK politics live: Tax rises like this must never be just done to business, CBI chief tells Reeves
Rain Newton-Smith said ‘tax rises like this must never again be simply done to business’
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Your support makes all the difference.The head of a key UK business group has warned that “tax rises like this must never again be simply done to business”, in a warning to Rachel Reeves.
In a stinging speech, Confederation of British Industry chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said the said the measures announced last month have made it harder for businesses to “take a chance” on hiring new people.
She added that employers were caught “off-guard” by the hike in national insurance contributions in the autumn budget.
However, the chancellor is expected to tell the group there was “no alternative” to tax rises after she announced a nearly £70bn uplift in public spending, partly funded by sharp increases in business taxes.
Speaking at the CBI’s annual conference in London, she will say: “Across the board, in so many sectors, margins are being squeezed and profits are being hit by a tough trading environment that just got tougher.
Ahead of her discussion with Scottish Power CEO Keith Anderson, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will give a speech at 1pm.
Meanwhile, the government has launched a crackdown on welfare benefits as the prime minister promises a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to cheats and debate continues on the voluntary assisted dying bill due to be debated in parliament later this week.’
Starmer rules out calling another general election
Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out calling another general election, but said he was “not surprised” some people who did not support Labour might want a second poll.
The Prime Minister was asked by ITV’s This Morning about a petition calling for another election on the Parliament website, now signed by two million people.
Sir Keir told the programme: “Look, I remind myself that very many people didn’t vote Labour at the last election.
“I’m not surprised that many of them want a rerun. That isn’t how our system works.
“There will be plenty of people who didn’t want us in in the first place.
“So, what my focus is on is the decisions that I have to make every day.”
McVitie’s boss says ‘becoming harder to understand’ case for investing in UK
Salman Amin, chief executive of McVitie’s bakery products’ parent company Pladis, said it is “becoming harder to understand” the case for investing in the UK.
Speaking at the CBI’s annual conference on Monday, he said: “Historically, we’ve been super bullish on the United Kingdom.
“In fact, by far our greatest investment across all of our countries over the last decade or so has come to the UK.”
He added: “Going forward, it’s becoming harder to understand what the case for investment is.
“Small amounts one can understand, but the quantums that I think we need to make a difference in the growth rate of the economy are in the order of tens of millions every year.
“In the last couple of years, it’s just become a lot harder to really see how does that play out.”
Labour tempers flare over assisted dying as MP accuses peer of ‘hugely offensive’ remarks
A Labour peer has been accused of making “hugely offensive” remarks by an MP from his own party after he suggested the justice secretary’s concerns about the assisted dying bill were “motivated by religious belief”.
Rachael Maskell, the MP for York Central and a devout Christian, said Lord Falconer’s claim that Shabana Mahmood was trying to “impose” her Muslim beliefs on those in favour of assisted dying was “hugely offensive and discriminatory” and urged him to apologise.
The row comes as temperatures are flaring on the Labour benches about the assisted dying bill, which MPs will vote on this Friday.
Read the full article here:
Labour tempers flare over assisted dying as MP accuses peer of ‘offensive’ remarks
Lord Falconer was accused of ‘offensive remarks’ over his claim that Shabana Mahmood’s opposition to the assisted dying bill is to do with her Islamic faith
Analysis: What happened eight years ago?
Brexit is still on the minds of business leaders, although its name is seldom spoken, since it tends to reheat old arguments and the government has said rejoining the EU is not on the agenda.
Still, CBI boss Rain Newton-Smith makes a reference to the long shadow it has cast over the economy and business in her speech: “After eight years of downcast ambitions of weak growth, I know we are all dead set on getting our economy moving again.
“So my message today to government and to all parties is, work with us to get there. Let’s build that bridge together.”
Analysis: CBI boss brings up sore topic for business amid warning for government
A big part of CBI boss Rain Newton-Smith’s speech was about industrial strategy, something of a sore topic for businesses in the last decade.
A business strategy is just a plan on which areas of the economy you will help out since they show promise or you need them. Under most of the last government there wasn’t one, since it ideologically didn’t like meddling by aiding one sector of business over another.
The trouble is, as Ms Newton-Smith suggests, other countries did like doing that meddling, putting Britian’s competitors in the driving seat. She doesn’t mention which areas of the economy, but it tends to be ones that require a large amount of capital investment like green energy or ones that are fast-paced and need laws which can catch up, like developing medicine.
She said: “If you look at the most successful economies of the last 50 years, there’s one common denominator, a strong, clear and modern industrial strategy. We’ve got a commitment from government to deliver it.”
“But what is not yet clear is how it will help businesses in the everyday economy, the large employers who are often the first step into the world of work, the unsung heroes in our communities, how we support their workforce to be more productive.
“Because I can tell you, if you don’t do that, your industrial strategy will not stand the test of time. So today, I’m proud to say the CBI is launching its own blueprint for competitiveness.”
She wants a broader-based strategy that also helps big employers like retailers who feel they’ve been hit hard in the budget. In a familiar refrain to win over those who think it’s anti-competitive – get your business catchphrase bingo cards out – she says “this isn’t about picking winners. It’s about picking races, races we can win.”
Businesses not ready to invest or grow in the UK, CBI chief warns
Rain Newton-Smith, chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry, told her organisation’s annual conference: “What really defines growth is the decisions made in boardrooms up and down the country.
“It’s CFOs (chief financial officers) asking, ‘can we afford to invest? Can we afford to expand? Can we afford to take a chance on new people?’
“Well after the Budget, the answer we’re hearing from so many firms is still ‘not yet’.
“The rise in national insurance, the stark lowering of the threshold, caught us all off guard.
“Along with the expansion and the rise of the national living wage – which everyone wants to accommodate – and the potential cost of the Employment Rights Bill, they put a heavy burden on business.”
Newton-Smith says firms were caught ‘off guard’ by national insurance hike
The head of one of the UK’s biggest business organisations has hit out at Rachel Reeves’ Budget, saying firms were caught “off guard” by the hike in national insurance contributions (NICs).
Rain Newton-Smith said the measures announced last month have placed a “heavy burden” on companies, with many now switching to “crisis containment”
She also criticised the changes to inheritance tax relief for farmers, saying it had left them “fearful” about the future.
CBI CEO says Budget has ‘made it harder for business to take a chance on people’
The CBI CEO has called for the government to work with the business industry to form an “elevated partnership”.
“Work with us together, let’s build that bridge together, we need to shift from consultation to co-design,” Rain Newton-Smith said.
“Tax rises like this must never just be done to business.”
She stressed that too many businesses were having to compromise on their plans for growth, and that the Budget had “just made it harder for business to take a chance on people”.
Economist says CBI CEO needs to be stronger in response to Budget
Independent business economist Andrew Sentance, who is a former CBI Director of Economic Affairs, says CBI boss Rain Newton Smith needs to be stronger in her response to the Budget, which has been unpopular among businesses.
He said on X: “We are being led to expect a critical speech on the Budget” From Ms Newton Smith. “She needs to be more hard-hitting than the CBI’s mild initial Budget response in October.”
Back then, she said: “This is a tough Budget for business. While the Corporation Tax Roadmap will help create much needed stability, the hike in National Insurance Contributions alongside other increases to the employer cost base will increase the burden on business and hit the ability to invest and ultimately make it more expensive to hire people or give pay rises.”
Keir Starmer reiterates plans for spiking to become specific offence
Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated plans for spiking to become a specific offence, as he hopes a change will give people “the confidence to come forward”.
The Prime Minister also laid out plans for venue staff to be trained in relation to spiking, with a pilot to begin within weeks before a wider rollout next year.
The Prime Minister made the comments in a meeting of police bosses, transport figures and hospitality executives in Downing Street on Monday morning.
Labour pledged in its manifesto to introduce a new offence for spiking, but there was no detail in the King’s Speech this year about a specific crime, though it promised to ensure an improved police response to cases.
Spiking is already illegal, but the commitment is to making it a specific offence. According to information published by the Metropolitan Police, spiking offences are covered by more than one law, but most come under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.
Sir Keir told the meeting: “There are a number of measures that we are setting out this morning – we want to talk it through with you.
“The first is to make spiking a specific offence so that it counts, it’s reported.”
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