Doncaster Chamber of Commerce is calling for constancy and long-term thinking on economic matters, following Labour’s recent spending audit.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set the stage for the imminent Autumn budget and announced upwards of £5.5 billion’s worth of cuts for this year alone, ranging from the cancellation of road and infrastructure schemes to the scrapping of planned investment opportunities and more.
But Doncaster Chamber is concerned that short-term savings will ultimately come at the expense of long-term growth. Dan Fell, Chief Exec of Doncaster Chamber, said: “As representatives of the business community, we of course understand the importance of careful decision-making and commend the Chancellor for trying to be pragmatic here.
“Yet, as we have said before, government cannot simply cut its way to economic growth. We challenged the previous government on this very issue — highlighting u-turns and prevarication— and so implore their successors not to repeat the same mistakes. The business community wants to see stability and certainty from Westminster, not just more rowbacks and withdrawn investment. We have to be forward-thinking if we want the UK to maximise its potential and emerge as a real global player.
“On that note, we were heartened earlier this month by how Labour reinforced its commitment to an industrial strategy in both the party’s own manifesto and in the recent King’s Speech. The private sector shares our enthusiasm here and will doubtlessly want to support Government in fulfilling their pledge, yet it will be hard for them to do so if we do not find more sustainable ways of plugging gaps in the state finances.
“Big ticket investments — such as infrastructure, hospitals, and prisons— are essential to the health of our economy, so long as they are calculated and well-considered. That’s why we are urging Government to explore alternative solutions for addressing their budgetary concerns in the future, rather than stymieing growth by cutting the very things that could be stimulating it. “
