Prime minister Keir Starmer met small businesses at Number 10 on Tuesday. (Alamy)
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer has sought to assure small business leaders that the Government will bring “instability” and “uncertainty” to an end.
Starmer hosted 50 small business and trade organisations at Downing Street on Tuesday morning alongside Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.
Speaking at the breakfast, in remarks shared with PoliticsHome, the PM said “stability” and “certainty” are what the country’s small businesses need “more than anything else”.
“We don’t need to give you the innovation. We don’t need to give you that spark you’ve already got to have.
“What we need to do to clear the conditions for you to take that forward, fixing as we take the foundation,” Starmer said.
Starmer and Reeves have been keen to reassure the business community about the Labour Government’s plans following criticism of some measures announced in the October Budget, particularly the decision to increase National Insurance contributions for employers.
Confederation of British Industry (CBI) chairman Rupert Soames last month said businesses were “milked as the cash cow” in Labour’s first fiscal event since being elected in July.
Meeting SME leaders in No10 this morning, Starmer sought to reassure them that the Government was focused on “serving you”.
“We’re serving you your family, your community, your customers, those that you rely on your business,” he said, pointing to measures like £250m for small business loans, temporary business rate relief, and plans for permanently lower business tax rates for retail, hospitality, and leisure properties.
Attendees included Mark Williams, the former Paralympian swimmer and founder of LIMB-Art, Carlisle Brewing Co-founder Alison Davis, and Humble Crumble Founder Kim Innes.
“I’ve been particularly struck by where you’re all doing your business around the country, and what it means,” Starmer told them.
“There’s quite a lot of connections going on today, if I’m not wrong, people talking to each other, thinking through how they might work together, and that’s what I mean by talking part of our communities, making our towns and cities more viable, and leading the way on innovation and creativity.”
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