Exclusive: Business backs Labour, new polling of UK bosses says
UK firms have backed Labour with a 14-point lead over the Conservatives on the question of which party is best for business.
Research by pollsters at Savanta asked 1,005 companies in the UK, between March 8 and March 28, which party would be best at supporting business, with 46 per cent saying Labour.
The Conservatives came out on 32 per cent, according to the first poll on this question since Jeremy Hunt delivered the Spring Budget last month.
It marks the joint largest lead for Labour since October 2023, when they also saw a 14-point lead among UK firms, and a three-point increase since the pre-Spring Budget business poll.
Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta, warned: “The Conservatives appeared to be pinning much of their electoral and economic hopes on the Spring Budget.
“Based on the response of the public and now UK businesses, our research would suggest they have, if anything, gone backwards in their ambitions.”
Pollsters at Savanta found firms appeared to respond negatively to the March 6 fiscal event, with 57 per cent saying it didn’t contain enough measures to support their business.
Starmer, Savanta found, also saw a nine-point lead – or 41 per cent – over Rishi Sunak, who came in on 32 per cent, for who is seen as best for businesses in the UK.
However, Labour’s shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves held a much smaller lead over Hunt – on 32 per cent to his 29 per cent – among UK businesses.
Most firms thought the Spring Budget would “make no difference” to the outlook of their businesses, with 50 per cent of respondents taking this view.
Just over a quarter – 27 per cent – believed it would improve their outlook, while almost a fifth, 18 per cent, said it would worsen.
“It’s hard to think of a time in recent political history where a major fiscal event received such a collective shrug of the shoulders,” Hopkins added.
“That may account for the fact that UK businesses seem to now be firmly in Labour’s corner – a remarkable transformation from just a few years ago.”
Jonathan Reynolds, Labour’s shadow business and trade secretary, commented: “Labour is now the party of business because only we can provide the stability business needs and are focused on the issues business leaders care about.
“Only we can can provide stable tax regime, a clear industrial strategy and fixing the apprenticeship levy to give employers more flexibility.
“It’s clear business has had enough of Conservative chaos and wants the stability to prosper only Labour can provide to get Britain building.”