LCCI on Chancellor's commitment for business in the next budget

Monday 7 September 2026

Karim Fatehi OBE, Chief Executive Officer of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry commented:

"We welcome the Chancellor's commitment to maintaining fiscal discipline and reducing regulatory burdens on businesses by 25% ahead of the upcoming budget, offering the stability businesses need to give them the confidence to invest. The government's commitment to incentivise growth by giving mayors a share of tax receipts generated in their own areas could be transformative for the economy. It is essential, however, that London’s allocation fairly reflects the level of tax it generates, allowing the capital to invest in the infrastructure a modern city needs to remain globally competitive.

Access to capital for both start-ups and scale-ups is one of the single biggest barriers to national economic growth. This affects businesses and their growth potential no matter where they are based. Excluding businesses in London and the south of England from £150 million of British Business Bank funding risks making other countries around the world more attractive than the UK for firms who want to grow. This would be the wrong message to send about the country's competitiveness.

The Chancellor must have two clear objectives in mind at this Budget: meaningfully lowering the cost of doing business, and making the capital more internationally competitive to drive UK-wide growth. With business costs at exceptionally high levels, our members are clear they cannot absorb any further costs. Reversing the 2025 hikes to employer National Insurance contributions and growth-led reform to business rates should be starting points for this Government’s first Budget.

As we made clear with the launch of our Choose LDN. campaign last week, however, the Budget needs to go further than this and recognise that the most successful economies across the world build a consensus around their capital succeeding. We cannot achieve growth in every UK postcode without actively deciding to make London more internationally competitive for investment, talent and job creation.”

ENDS

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