Asda boss: Government ‘more and more difficult’ to deal with
The boss of supermarket chain Asda has said the government has become “more and more difficult” to deal with, claiming the pressures on business posed by policy have ballooned since he began his career.
Allan Leighton, Asda’s chair, said businesses are increasingly facing obstacles to growth which are “not of their own making”.
At Tuesday’s spring statement the Chancellor claimed the UK economy “is growing” but retailers hit back to claim decisions made by Labour are hampering their ability to expand.
Speaking at the Retail Week x The Grocer conference on Tuesday, Leighton said: “Politics and government have a much more bigger impact on what happens today than they did.
“You know, I think in that period of time, most of government was pretty business-friendly, and over a period of time that’s got, I think, more and more difficult,” he said, in comments reported by The Telegraph.
Asda was bought by US retailer Walmart for £6.7bn in 1999, before being sold to the billionaire Issa brothers and British equity firm TDR Capital in 2021, with Walmart retaining an equity stake and a board seat.
Leighton previously led Asda in the 1990s before returning to the supermarket in 2024, after stints at The Co-op, Pandora and Brewdog.
During his first period at Asda the Tony Blair-led Labour Party went “out of their way to try to engage with business,” he said, while the environment faced by business under today’s Labour government is “less helpful”.
“In the end, you have to deal with it, which is why I don’t complain about it,” he said.
Retailers sound alarm over youth unemployment
Retail and hospitality leaders said Rachel Reeves’ growth ambitions are positive but are undermined by government policy – including business rates and workers’ rights reforms – which make it more difficult for them to hire.
Retailers have been hit by rising employment costs in recent months and are now being forced to adapt to Labour’s new workers’ rights reforms, which trade bodies have warned could force bosses to cut down on hiring.
Rising youth unemployment is an increasing concern for business leaders, as the number of young people not in education, employment or training nears one million.
The boss of bakery chain Greggs said on Tuesday she is worried by the level of youth joblessness, describing getting young people into work as “key to the success of a future growing economy”.