Key facts
- A survey of UK scale-up founders shows only 6% believe Prime Minister Andy Burnham is pro-business.
- 83% of founders surveyed expect business conditions to stay the same or worsen under Burnham.
- The survey by Helm, a membership group of over 400 scale-up founders, drew on members with a combined revenue of £8 billion.
- Manufacturers' sentiment has also declined due to concerns about potential tax increases.
- Helm CEO Andreas Adamides stated there is a "trust deficit" in Burnham's administration.
- The government is facing financial pressures from cost-of-living pledges, defence spending increases, and an energy price shock.
A significant majority of Britain's leading scale-up founders are pessimistic about business conditions under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, with new research indicating that only one in 20 entrepreneurs believe the government supports the private sector. The findings, from a survey by Helm, a membership group for over 400 scale-up founders, suggest that 83% of respondents expect conditions to either remain unchanged or deteriorate.
These results are likely to be among the first of several surveys anticipated ahead of a late October Budget. Private sector concerns are mounting that Burnham may implement measures targeting business profits to finance multi-billion pound spending commitments. A separate survey of manufacturers on Monday also revealed a decline in industry sentiment, driven by fears of potential tax increases.
Andreas Adamides, CEO of Helm, highlighted a "trust deficit" in Burnham's leadership, despite recent announcements such as business rate cuts for pub landlords and assurances of a pro-business agenda. Adamides suggested that reversing the employers' national insurance rise within the first 100 days would signal the government's understanding of growth drivers. He emphasized that uncertainty regarding potential wealth taxes and exit charges hinders investment as effectively as taxation itself.
During the Makerfield by-election campaign, Burnham had indicated a willingness to address the increased business costs resulting from Rachel Reeves' national insurance hike, which reportedly harmed the job market and youth unemployment. This tax increase generated approximately £25 billion annually for government revenue, making any reversal a potential challenge for Chancellor John Healey's funding plans.
Chancellor Healey is anticipating a difficult Budget, compounded by Burnham's pledges aimed at alleviating the cost of living for both households and businesses. Healey is also under pressure to commit to increasing defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030, an initiative that would cost an additional £9 billion per year and was a point of contention when he resigned under former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Both Burnham and Healey have instructed Cabinet ministers to identify savings within their departmental budgets, though the extent of these cuts remains uncertain, further complicated by an energy price shock stemming from the Iran war, which is straining public finances. The government is currently projected to incur over £110 billion in debt interest costs for the current financial year.