Doing business in Britain is too difficult, too expensive and too uncertain September 30, 2025 Business confidence is at a three-year low and productivity has not improved for 15 years. It is businesses that policymakers must turn to – and fast – to get growth back on track, writes ICAEW chief executive Alan Vallance Whatever your political leanings, we can all agree that the UK faces a challenging economic context. Weak [...]
Why business confidence is all over the place August 12, 2025 Kemi Badenoch looked aghast but Keir Starmer was defiant. Business confidence was at a nine-year high, the prime minister declared in the House of Commons in mid-July. The Conservative Party leader was not having any of it. Neither were many economists and analysts watching from the City. What Starmer claimed was not false, per se. Research [...]
Starmer urged to ‘be honest’ about tax plans as business confidence slumps July 10, 2025 Business confidence has slumped to a three-year low as a “cocktail of costs” including higher taxes and tariff threats pour cold water on Keir Starmer’s claims of rising corporate optimism. The prime minister told MPs on Wednesday afternoon that business confidence had hit a nine-year high, citing a recent Lloyds Business Barometer, which typically reveals [...]
UK growth to suffer from interest rates hold, industry warns June 19, 2025 The UK economy stands to suffer from high borrowing costs, leading industry figures have warned, after the Bank of England held interest rates at 4.25 per cent on Thursday. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) indicated that interest rate cuts could come in the coming months after a recent 25 basis point cut in May. [...]
Is this a sweet trade deal with the EU – or does it sound a bit fishy? May 19, 2025 Keir Starmer will be boasting about his latest catch in international diplomacy: a trade deal with the European Union, which the government hopes will boost the chances of landing higher growth. In an agreement that hands EU boats continued rights in British seas until 2038, slashing red tape on food checks and increasing cooperation on [...]
‘State of despondency’ as tax raid sets up ‘harrowing year’ for firms April 15, 2025 Business leaders’ worries over Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes have plunged corporate confidence into “ominous territory”, a leading business association has warned. The Chancellor launched a multi-billion pound tax raid on British businesses in the Budget last October, and a new report has suggested that the impact of the hikes is continuing to weigh on [...]
Business confidence plunges to lowest level since Liz Truss’s mini-budget January 15, 2025 Rachel Reeves’s tax hikes have pushed business confidence to its lowest level since the wake of Liz Truss’s calamitous mini-Budget, as firms fret over a surge in costs and slowdown in the domestic economy, a closely watched survey has suggested. Concerns over a looming tax bill and a slump in sales caused business confidence to [...]
Businesses ‘cautious’ about the future as tax fears dominate, survey shows October 9, 2024 This was the first time in a year that business confidence had decreased, although the ICAEW noted that confidence was still double the pre-pandemic average.
Business confidence rises to highest level in two years but concerns over costs remain July 10, 2024 "These figures suggest that businesses shrugged off any distraction caused by the general election, as lower inflation and stronger expected sales growth drove an encouraging uptick in confidence in the second quarter," Suren Thiru, ICAEW economics director, said.
Business confidence surges but recovery remains ‘brittle’, survey suggests April 24, 2024 The UK economy has recorded growth in both January and February, making it overwhelmingly likely that last year's shallow recession is already over.