UK businesses are urging the government to resist any temptation to impose further taxes on them, warning it would undermine Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves’s mission to grow the economy.
Business leaders are gathering at the QEII conference centre in central London today for the British Chambers of Commerce’s annual conference, where memories of last autumn’s budget tax increases are still fresh.
Shevaun Haviland, the BCC’s director general, will declare that if the government is serious about growth, then it cannot tax business any further.
She will warn that businesses were taken by surprise by the size and scale of the rise in national insurance contributions in the last budget.
Haviland is expected to say: "We were unprepared for the huge burden placed upon us, and it led many of us to rethink our growth plans. As a result, our business confidence measures have fallen to their lowest levels since 2022.
"For the government to achieve its growth mission, people need to stay in work and businesses need to invest. As always, businesses soak it up and move forward, but they feel like they are wading through treacle.”
The energy company Shell has declared it has “no intention” of making an offer for its rival BP, after takeover speculation swept the City last night.
In a statement to the City, Shell insists it has not approached BP, and that no talks have taken place.
It says: "In response to recent media speculation Shell wishes to clarify that it has not been actively considering making an offer for BP and confirms it has not made an approach to, and no talks have taken place with, BP with regards to a possible offer."
Under the takeover code, this means Shell can’t bid for BP for six months, unless it has the agreement of BP’s board, or if another company bids for BP, or if BP asks for a code waiver, or if there is a material change of circumstances.
There is a calm feeling to trading in the City this morning, with the market slightly higher.
The FTSE 100 index has risen by six points, or 0.07%, in early trading to 8,725 points, led by the gambling company Entain (+2.3%) and the mining company Anglo American (+1.8%).
The agenda
• 9.15am BST: senior cabinet minister addresses BCC’s annual conference
• 9.45am BST: Shevaun Haviland, director general of the BCC, addresses its conference
• Noon BST: Andrew Bailey, the governor of the Bank of England, addresses BCC annual conference
• 1.30pm BST: latest estimate of US GDP for Q1 2025
• 3.25pm Kemi Badenoch MP, the leader of the opposition, addresses BCC annual conference
We'll be tracking all the main events throughout the day … |
It’s also a ‘new era’ for share prices in the defence sector 
