Chancellor to pitch budget at wealth creators – UK politics live
Chancellor John Healey has acknowledged that the government has put 'a lot of pressure' on businesses and pledged to help wealth creators in next week's budget.
Chancellor John Healey has acknowledged that the government has put 'a lot of pressure' on businesses and pledged to help wealth creators in next week's budget. Speaking to Patrick Maguire from The Times, Healey signaled a shift toward supporting profitable businesses, saying he wants to be 'a chancellor who backs business in Britain making a profit'.
Healey specifically mentioned entrepreneurs who 'challenge the status quo' and 'come up with innovative ideas,' emphasizing that profit is essential for business growth and reinvestment. 'If you're not making a profit, you've got nothing to put back into the business,' he stated, adding that thriving businesses are more likely to invest domestically.
Government pressure
The chancellor recognized that recent government policies have increased burdens on businesses through employment law, regulation, tax, input costs, and supply chain challenges. 'I have recognised that in recent times there's been a lot of pressure,' Healey admitted, comparing business cost concerns to household cost of living pressures.
If you talk to any of the businesses that have come in and have either had one-to-ones or round tables with me, I have recognised that in recent times there's been a lot of pressure: employment law, regulation, tax, input costs, supply chains.
Budget measures
While Healey didn't provide specific details about upcoming budget measures, The Times reports he is expected to make significant cuts to business regulations. A senior Treasury source described current requirements as 'the sludge choking firms,' with reporting requirements likely to be abolished for many smaller enterprises.
The chancellor's comments appear to mark a more pro-business stance than his predecessor Rachel Reeves, though Healey defended her decision to increase employer national insurance as necessary to address the 'dereliction of duty' of the previous Conservative government.
Political context
Healey's interview comes as he prepares for media rounds ahead of next Wednesday's budget delivery. Many in the business community have historically suspected Labour governments would treat businesses as 'a cash machine' during fiscal pressure, making his explicit backing for profit-making notable.
The chancellor's focus on business costs comes amid other political developments, including crime figures and gender pay gap data being published today, and speeches by Kemi Badenoch at the Police Federation conference and energy secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh at a Commons lunch.
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