Rachel Reeves is facing a mounting revolt from Britain’s business leaders, with chiefs across sectors warning that her tax hikes and labour reforms are throttling investment, driving out wealth, and tipping the economy toward recession.
BT chief executive Allison Kirkby (pictured) warned this week that Britain is already at “peak government-inflicted costs.” Speaking at the Connected Britain conference, she revealed that BT pays ten times more in business rates, energy levies and compliance costs than rivals in Germany or the Netherlands. She said that investors need certainty on fiscal policy but Reeves’s approach risks deterring much-needed capital. The telecoms giant is already on the hook for an extra £100 million annually after the Chancellor’s last budget raised the minimum wage and employer national insurance contributions.
JD Sports boss Régis Schultz has also urged Reeves not to make Britain uncompetitive by further hiking staff costs. Warning of unemployment “going in the wrong direction,” Schultz said young consumers — JD’s key customers — would be hit hardest if labour costs rise again. JD’s profits have slumped as the group faces weak US demand and tariff uncertainty, but Schultz insisted the Chancellor must avoid adding to the pressure: “That is our plea. Don’t increase the cost of labour.”
AO World founder John Roberts issued perhaps the starkest warning, telling the BBC: “We’ve lived through a few recessions in the last 25 years – I think we’re heading into another one.” Roberts slammed Reeves’s workers’ rights bill — particularly “day one” rights for new employees — as a barrier to job creation. He also railed against the government’s tax burden, saying wealth was “leaving the UK in incredible amounts” as entrepreneurs flee.
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