Panicked Made in UK bosses issue ultimatum to PM ‘prove you are pro business’

Spooked British bosses have told Andy Burnham to prove he is pro-business.

Four in 10 think conditions will get worse under the new Prime Minister, while a similar number think they will stay the same. Just 17% think there will be an improvement in shattered confidence after two years of Labour rule.

Three in four say the damaging rise in employers’ National Insurance should be reversed.

A state-of-the-nation poll of 400 leading firms with a combined revenue of £8bn, which contribute £1bn a year in tax, reveals fears that Britain risks becoming an “incubator economy” – world-class at starting businesses but unable to keep them – as the United States, the UAE and Singapore become new homes thanks to promises of lower taxes and other reliefs.

Andreas Adamides, boss of Helm, the largest membership community of scale-up founders and chief executives in the UK, said: “Andy Burnham says he is a pro-business Prime Minister. Just 6% of founders agree. That is the scale of the trust deficit he has inherited, and it will not be closed with warm words or a rate cut for pubs.

“He did not impose the tax rises of the last two years, but he owns them now. Reversing the employers’ National Insurance rise in his first 100 days would be the clearest possible signal that this Government understands who creates growth. What business leaders cannot afford is another summer of speculation about wealth taxes and exit charges, because uncertainty stops investment just as surely as tax does.

“Britain’s scale-up founders are ready and willing to partner with the ​Government to deliver on its growth ambitions. But the Prime Minister must prove he is serious, stop the creep of taxes on wealth creators, and give business the certainty it needs to invest and grow on British soil.”

The Prime Minister’s first major intervention on taxation, a 20% cut to business rates for pubs, clubs and live music venues, was welcomed as an important first step in boosting trading conditions, but businesses say more needs to be done to restore confidence in the Labour Government.

Mr Burnham has inherited a tax burden at its highest since WW2 and a business community bruised by the decisions of the past two years.

Chancellor John Healey’s first Budget is on October 28.

Last month, on the day Mr Burnham became PM, the Express revealed how British businesses issued an effective vote of no confidence in Andy Burnham on the day he became prime minister.

Three-quarters of companies are worried about more tax rises, fearing another round of devastating grabs will send them to the wall.

Some have threatened to relocate to America, where they say lower taxes and cheaper energy would turbocharge profits.

The damning verdict of insecurity and diffidence is delivered in a state-of-the-nation survey, revealing lifeblood firms left on the ropes after two years of Labour rule, fear the worst is yet to come.

DJH’s Future of Business report, which took the pulse of 200 UK bosses, also revealed more than half wanted a snap General Election.

In one of her first acts, former Chancellor Reeves hiked National Insurance on employers – in what was labelled the Jobs Tax.

Unemployment now stands at 4.9% for people aged 16 and over – a figure equal to 1.76m individuals. The youth unemployment rate (those aged 16 to 24) is significantly higher at 16.2%.

British manufacturing ranks 11th globally in terms of output, with a focus on high-value, specialised sectors such as aerospace and pharma.

It accounts for 9% of the UK economy and 42% of exports, but low orders and high costs have led to a prolonged period of sluggish growth.

Firms now face some of the world’s highest energy costs and a chronic skills shortage.

Challenges remain: access to funding and ongoing economic uncertainty, with bosses calling for grants, greater tax incentives, and more training support.

Helm, whose members run scale-up businesses, leads the Stop the Creep campaign against the creeping rise of taxes on Britain’s wealth creators.

Dominic Ponniah, CEO of Cleanology, the commercial cleaning firm employing more than 1,400 people across the UK, said: “Being pro-business means not making it harder, more risky and more expensive to employ people, so Burnham needs to abandon the Employment Rights Act, but of course he won’t do that.

“They are pro-business in words, and anti-business in actions.”

Fiona Hudson-Kelly, executive chair of BPIF Training, the largest apprenticeship provider to the UK print and packaging industry, said: “We need to create an economic environment that’s pro-employment, not tax employers more.”

On the day Mr Burnham became PM, a Labour Party spokesperson said: “We know that after years of economic uncertainty, businesses want stability and a pro-business Government focused on growth. That’s exactly why we will back businesses across every region of the UK to unlock investment, create good jobs and build a stronger economy for the future.”