Fresh data, this time from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, makes more sorry reading for Reeves. A quarter of the 2,000 businesses surveyed say they are planning to cancel or scale down expansion plans – one third are either sacking staff or halting new hires. That’s the highest proportion in a decade if you don’t include the pandemic. At the same time 42% are planning to raise prices. Official labour market data tomorrow is likely to show a stagnation in employment ahead of further drops…
CIPD Chief Executive Peter Cheese blames “planned changes to employment costs” and notes “employment indicators are heading in the wrong direction.” Separately the Federation of Small Businesses’ confidence index has a fallen to its lowest level since the start of the pandemic in 2020 with the worst drop in London. Quite the achievement for Reeves’ once-in-a-generation budget…
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”