Prime Minister Keir Starmer has publicly thanked Britain’s businesses for absorbing the financial burden of his government’s £23 billion national insurance hike, while facing mounting pressure from industry leaders not to impose further tax rises in the autumn.
Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) annual conference, Starmer acknowledged the scale of the demands placed on companies in his first year in office, calling them instrumental in fixing the “foundations of the country”.
“I fully acknowledge that this year, as we’ve had to fix the foundations… we’ve asked a lot of you,” he told delegates. “I want to acknowledge that it has made a huge difference. Because of it, the money has gone into the NHS and waiting lists are coming down. We’ve put investment into the skills… new homes [and] new roads.”
He added: “I want to say thank you.”
Starmer’s remarks are the clearest yet that his government recognises the financial pressure it has placed on employers, following the surprise hike in employer national insurance contributions (NICs), part of a £23bn tax-raising package designed to fund public service investment and deficit reduction.
But his gratitude was quickly met with a firm message from the business community: no more tax hikes.
BCC director general Shevaun Haviland used her speech to urge ministers to hold the line at the next fiscal event, warning that firms cannot continue to shoulder growing cost pressures.
“If there is one message I want government to take away, it is this: there must be no further tax increases at the autumn Budget,” she said. “We cannot keep asking businesses to pick up more of the tax burden.”
In addition to higher NICs, businesses are also grappling with increased minimum wage obligations, continued uncertainty around business rates, and the looming cost of the government’s forthcoming workers’ rights legislation — estimated by some in government to cost firms £5 billion.
While Starmer stopped short of ruling out further tax rises in the autumn, he did attempt to reassure the audience that the government is working to rebalance the economy through growth. He pointed to the government’s newly announced post-Brexit trade strategy as a tool to unlock new international opportunities.
“Trade isn’t just about goods. We’re a services superpower,” he said, highlighting plans to streamline red tape for smaller exporters, expand export credit funding, and improve mutual recognition of UK professional qualifications abroad.
Starmer added that the government would prioritise “faster, smaller” trade deals alongside traditional free trade agreements to speed up market access for UK firms.
Despite Starmer’s warm words and a raft of new initiatives, many in the business community remain wary. Employers are juggling elevated wage bills, inflation-linked input costs, and tightening margins, with little guarantee of policy stability in the months ahead.
The Prime Minister’s speech marks a delicate balancing act: seeking to portray fiscal discipline and investment delivery on the one hand, while trying to maintain the confidence of a private sector still smarting from tax hikes and regulatory uncertainty.
Whether Starmer’s gratitude will translate into lasting goodwill remains to be seen — but the message from business was unambiguous: enough is enough.
