LCCI Comment on the Chancellor’s Spring Statement

Wednesday 4 March 2026

The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) welcomes the Chancellor’s renewed commitment to stability that gives businesses the confidence to invest and expand, as set out yesterday in her Spring Statement. However, the OBR notes that business confidence remains fragile as firms continue to contend with rising taxes, wage pressures and ever-increasing operational costs, which has been compounded by ongoing geopolitical uncertainty.

Fiscal responsibility, support for apprenticeships and boosting trade are all positive steps towards sustainable growth. However, the Chancellor’s comments come in the context of a strikingly bleak business outlook. LCCI’s latest research shows that just 25% of London businesses expect the capital’s economy to improve this year, a number liable to drop even further without the right steps put in place by the Government to ease the financial and regulatory burdens.

Increases in the Chancellor’s fiscal headroom, thanks to lower borrowing costs, are a positive indication of the Government’s economic management and will help to provide protection against unexpected shocks. However, rising energy costs triggered by ongoing conflict in the Middle East indicate that this buffer, which remains smaller than those maintained by previous chancellors, could be at risk. Faced with such uncertainty, the Government must double down on its commitment to long-term growth ambitions, ensuring, for example, that key infrastructure investment projects are insulated against any budget cuts come autumn and resisting the temptation to further increase taxes on businesses.

Elsewhere, the Chamber welcomes the Chancellor’s continued action to reform apprenticeships which are essential for filling the skills gaps holding back London’s firms. Despite this, rising unemployment projections for 2026 and subdued hiring demand, as outlined by the OBR and reflected in recent polling by LCCI, demonstrate the urgent need for greater Government efforts to reduce taxation on jobs, ease regulatory burdens, and resist the temptation to follow up the punitive Employment Rights Act with any further employment legislation.

The Chancellor’s indication that she will use her upcoming Mais lecture to outline plans for strengthening global relationships and breaking down trade barriers is positive news for London’s business community. London’s international trading capacity remains essential to its position as a global hub of investment and business development. The Chancellor must use this opportunity to support the global growth of London’s businesses, reducing regulatory friction with key trading partners and securing trade deals to remove tariffs levied on British exports.

The Government is right to champion stability in its search for long-term growth, but it cannot afford to ignore the business needs of the present. There can be no economic growth without business, and as the driver of prosperity across the broader UK, London is the key to unlocking growth and opportunity.

ENDS