Labour Delivering on Failure3 Mar 2025 10:32
“Britain’s private sector is on track for a year of decline since Labour’s election as bosses warned another three months of contraction were on the way.
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) latest monthly survey showed bosses anticipate a sustained contraction until at least May. The CBI said it was now forecasting four straight quarters of decline for the private sector, pointing to a slump lasting from the middle of last year to the middle of 2025.
While many bosses were optimistic about a Labour government before and immediately after last July’s election, optimism quickly evaporated after Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, claimed they had discovered a £22bn black hole in public finances.
The Chancellor’s October tax raid also hammered confidence and businesses are now bracing themselves for a £25bn increase in National Insurance contributions (NICs) that kicks in from next month.
The jump in the rate paid by employers on their workers’ pay packets, from 13.8pc to 15pc, and the cut in the annual earnings threshold at which it takes effect, from £9,100 to £5,000, shocked employers. Companies have slashed hiring plans since then and are preparing to raise prices to cover the extra costs.
Just over a quarter of bosses of mid-sized companies are concerned about rising employment costs, according to a separate survey of chief executives by accounting firm BDO.”
Who voted for this lot ? Not me……