Stuart Machin, CEO of M&S, commented: “I’ve never hidden what I thought of the last two Budgets. They were a disaster. Britain needed a plan for growth and got a pile of new taxes and regulations instead. At M&S we were left facing £150 million of new costs each year, on top of a tax bill of around half a billion pounds.
“Attention is now turning to the next Budget, the first by Chancellor John Healey. I have written to him directly to set out what needs to change, and why it can’t wait.”
Machin said that retail had a “big part” to play in the growth of the UK economy, but warned that when Government increases costs, “there is little room” to soak them up.
He highlighted that the retailer would be investing over £2 billion in the next three years across its stores, supply chain and technology.
Machin continued: “I know money is tight. I’m not asking the Chancellor to rip up his fiscal rules. But at the very least, he should start unravelling the mistakes of the last two Budgets.”
“The Chancellor needs to restore hope among British businesses, and tell us what he’ll do now.”
Machin’s proposals included securing a food and drink deal with the EU, undoing the cut to the threshold where employers start paying National Insurance, fixing business rates and getting rid of the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) packaging tax, as well as making sure that the Employment Rights Act “doesn’t ban the Saturday job by treating normal weekend shifts as ‘low hours’ contracts”.
He referred to “nearly a million” young people being out of work, and stated that the rise in National Insurance had hit suppliers in the farming and food manufacturing sectors, resulting in price rises at retail stores.
Machin concluded: “The last two Budgets were a crushing disappointment for customers, colleagues and businesses. Now there’s a new Chancellor and a new chance. The Prime Minister has promised ‘hope again’ and given us ideas for the next Parliament. But the Chancellor needs to restore hope among British businesses, and tell us what he’ll do now.”
