Responding to Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ speech at the Labour Party Conference today, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Policy Chair, Tina McKenzie, said:
“It was good to see Chancellor Rachel Reeves make the importance of enterprise clear in her Budget, following a bold statement from the Business Secretary on his small business plan.
“Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, has already shown that Labour is putting delivery for small firms front and centre by tackling late payments to small businesses - reiterated in a senior ministerial speech at party conference for the very first time.
“An actively pro small business Budget is necessary this year to achieve the sustainable growth that the Labour Party has talked of creating by the end of the Parliament.
“An actively pro-small business pro-worker budget would help small businesses through formally linking the employment allowance in line with the National Living Wage, deliver on business rates promises for small firms and tackle personal guarantees that put off investment.
“Of course, Labour must be extremely careful not to chill employment and small business investment, especially when it comes to plans on employment law. It is of extreme importance that Ministers work closely in partnership with small employers on how we get more people, not less, back into work.”