Business groups welcome Reeves’ growth plans but remain ‘concerned’ about Budget
Business groups welcome Reeves’ growth plans but remain ‘concerned’ about Budget
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Business groups and economists have said Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ latest plans to grow the economy are welcome, but that measures in the October Budget will still weigh on companies. Ms Reeves announced plans to turn Oxford and Cambridge into “Europe’s Silicon Valley” with a raft of housing and infrastructure development in the area.
And she said the Government is backing a new third runway at Heathrow Airport, adding that she wants “proposals to be be brought forward by the summer”. Shevaun Haviland, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said the Chancellor has “laid down a clear marker” and that the plans will make companies “sit up and take notice”.
“They can lift the gloom that has settled over the economy and give firms real confidence,” she said. She added that the Government must “make sure the reality does not fall short of the promise”, adding that companies are still “struggling with increasing costs” from the October Budget.
Tina McKenzie, policy chairwoman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said the “rallying cry for Government to choose growth is exactly what the economy needs”. “It sends a strong, confident message that from now on growth comes first, and any barriers to that will be erased.
“This decision on Heathrow is totemic, and faster action to unblock decisions on infrastructure projects is entirely right.”. EasyJet chief executive Kenton Jarvis said the airport expansion would “provide consumer and economic benefits”, adding that it would allow the airline to “operate from the airport at scale for the first time”.
