British Chambers of Commerce director general Shevaun Haviland is set to deliver a stark warning to incoming prime minister Andy Burnham over his economic priorities.
Haviland will use her keynote address at the BCC’s annual conference to accuse successive governments of hobbling businesses and “failing to fulfil” Britain’s potential.
She is expected to tell delegates that “the difficult truth is, whoever leads the UK, the primary challenge remains the same – delivering growth.”
Haviland will make clear that further tax rises on the private sector would be deeply damaging, warning that “taxing businesses more would be a road to ruin.”
“The quickest way to destroy the fragile confidence that we have left. You must back businesses, not tax them, if you want to see growth,” she will add.
Her remarks come at a pivotal moment, with Keir Starmer’s resignation having opened the door for Burnham to become the fourth Labour prime minister of the 21st century.
Starmer’s government largely failed to revive the UK’s stuttering economy despite promising growth as its “number one priority,” with GDP never growing by more than 1.4 per cent in a single year.
Supporters of the outgoing government would point to Donald Trump’s tariffs and the war in Iran as factors that disrupted economic plans during his tenure.
A series of tax hikes under Starmer, including a £24bn employer national insurance and business rates raid, sent business confidence surveys to all-time lows across multiple indicators.
Haviland will argue that restoring that lost confidence is the most direct route to solving Britain’s wider economic problems, telling the conference that “weak confidence reduces appetite for risk, which reduces investment, which hampers growth, which knocks confidence further.”
She will warn that “this circular crisis of confidence is now shackling ambition, blocking the actions needed to invest, innovate and trade,” and that whoever occupies Downing Street must understand that reality.
Burnham, the former Manchester mayor, is currently formulating his economic agenda and selecting a Chancellor, after reports confirmed Rachel Reeves would be demoted from her post if he wins the leadership contest unchallenged, as widely expected.
Haviland will share the stage at Thursday’s summit with Reform UK’s Robert Jenrick and Green Party leader Zack Polanski, bringing together voices from across the political spectrum.
Delegates will also hear from the BCC’s newly installed president Andy Haldane, the former Bank of England chief economist who has reportedly been acting as an informal economic adviser to the Burnham campaign.