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Gloucestershire Business News

Business leaders call for stability after PM's resignation

Business leaders are united in a call for political and economic stability following the resignation of Liz Truss as Prime Minister yesterday.

They have called for "calm and competent government" following a period of "chaos and uncertainty".

Phil Smith, managing director of Business West, said: "The resignation of Liz Truss and the leadership contest to appoint the third UK Prime Minister this year shows the political instability that has characterised the UK in recent weeks. This harms business certainty and viability just at a time that they need to plan for a difficult winter.

"Business West emphasises the need for calm and competent government to deliver strategic direction for the economy during a period of chaos and uncertainty."

Mr Smith said firms were facing a myriad of issues as inflation reached a record high and the labour market remained tight and with energy bills potentially soaring again in April.

He added: "Our recent survey found that business concern about inflation is at a record high of 73 per cent, while business confidence is at an unprecedented low of 9 per cent, compared with 32 per cent in the depths of the pandemic. This is unsustainable.

"It is crucial that the Conservative Party comes to a decision on a new leader who can return both political and economic stability."

Sam Holliday, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) development manager for Gloucestershire, said: "What we have seen in the past few weeks at Westminster with U-turns, resignations and utter confusion over tax and economic policy has been confidence-sapping for many small businesses and has made planning for the future very difficult.

"People who run small businesses in Gloucestershire and beyond desperately need stability at the top so they can just get on with the difficult job of running their companies.

"The past few weeks of economic and political turmoil have seen a total absence of that stability and have just made an already challenging business environment even harder. It is surely now time for that instability to end.

"Whoever is elected to be our third Prime Minister of the year needs to put business needs and that of the public above political egos and infighting and help us all prepare for a winter we have always known would be extremely difficult."

Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Following weeks of chaos and uncertainty, the Prime Minister has resigned. Her resignation means the UK now faces even greater uncertainty, just as it stands on the cusp of a recession.

"It is now vital the Conservative Party speedily comes to a decision on a new leader who can return both political and economic stability.

"The new administration must immediately set out how they plan to deal with soaring energy bills, labour shortages, spiralling inflation and interest rates.

"Flip-flopping on policies has led to low consumer and business confidence, with four in 10 firms expecting falling profits, as companies have seen little sign of a coherent strategy nor stability in Government decision making.

"The challenges that lay ahead of us are building by the day. Two thirds of firms expect to raise their prices and inflation is the top concern. Interest rates are set to climb further in November and energy bills will now rocket again for many in April.

"This is unsustainable. Government must work with business to address three main issues, to show it recognises the challenges firms face.

"Firstly, they must look again at the energy support package for businesses and communicate quickly how the system will work from April.

"Secondly, they must fix the labour market. Without the skilled people to do the jobs businesses need, the economy cannot thrive.

"Thirdly, to grow the economy they must set out a strategy to boost our exports.

"People run businesses and businesses rely on people. The new administration must grasp that the cost of living and cost of doing business crises are two sides of the same coin.

"We still need a clear long-term vision on how it will support firms, and the communities that rely on them, to thrive."

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