Labour starts the week battling criticism over its ability to achieve its housing plan, as well as the Budget’s blow to business confidence. Rachel Reeves will begin the week facing dual economic blows as employers warn of impending staff redundancies and record low small-business confidence as a result of her Budget tax hikes. Ms Reeves’s national insurance hike has prompted widespread plans to increase redundancies and cut hiring, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) said.
Critics said the findings of a survey foreshadowing staff cuts show the tax raids were “a millstone” around the neck of the economy, while business leaders said the government “urgently” needs to push for economic growth. A separate survey commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses found that confidence among its members hit its lowest recorded level outside the pandemic in the final quarter of last year.
It follows a warning from the construction industry that it doesn’t have enough workers to achieve Labour’s plan to tackle the housing crisis by building 1.5 million homes in the next five years. Angela Rayner last week said there was “no excuse” not to meet the target and this week Sir Keir Starmer doubled down on that pledge, committing to the creation of a generation of new towns with spades in the ground before the next election in 2029.
