Mark Stewart, chief executive of Gloucester-based Stewart Golf, has resigned from his role as one of the government’s “export champions,” citing frustration with what he calls Labour’s “anti-business policies” under Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
Stewart’s company, which manufactures electric golf buggies, exports half of its £7 million turnover to the United States.
His departure comes after the speech from the chancellor on Wednesday, where announcements on airport expansions, updated regulations, and investment in technology clusters were made to bolster the UK’s growth prospects.
Having just returned from a trip to America, Stewart, 45, says the contrast in attitudes to business could not be starker. “I can’t be part of this,” he told The Times. “Every turn, there’s something that makes life more difficult for people trying to run small businesses like mine. I don’t feel we’re being supported or encouraged even to try and be better.”
He pointed specifically to Labour’s rhetoric as undermining British optimism, referencing the shadow chancellor’s comments about aspiring to “American-style optimism” during a trip on China’s bullet train. “Between you and the boss [Starmer], all you’ve done is talk down the UK,” he said.
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