May 21, 2026 · 8 min · 5 segments
What's left of the Labour government is scrambling around for policy ideas as the UK economy faces a battering storm, while Labour leadership candidates Andy Burnham and Wes Streeting have fired the…
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I mean, this is beginning to feel like the week in politics, but you have to bear with me because really not since the very height of Brexit chaos has Westminster shenanigans affected the business environment quite so much.
And forget about Liz Truss, because at least that was over and done with relatively quickly.
Um, we're in a situation where we have a government that is still trying to pull certain levers to get through a crisis that's only growing, um, and the music off, uh, from its own party are figures, uh, who would like to lead it and shake up, uh, what passes for its policy agenda.
We'll get back to the leadership election, but consider what the government has been doing, uh, just this week.
We had the most, uh, extraordinary [laughs] twist, uh, after I wrote a column, um, in which I didn't hold back on the SNP's plans in Scotland for a cap on the price of certain foods.
Uh, it never occurred to me that, uh, my entire criticism of that could just then be rewritten as a critique of the Labor government in Westminster because they began to flirt with precisely the same extraordinary idea, uh, as the lunatics north of the border.
Uh, what we understand is that, uh, they were proposing to pull back on some of the more onerous regulations, uh, and red tape that they've wrapped the retail sector in, in exchange for some sort of publicly declared voluntary cap on the price of bread and milk, uh, et cetera, et cetera.
Uh, now, obviously all hell broke loose when this story emerged, uh, and the retail chiefs involved in those discussions were not happy, and they were right to be unhappy about this most economically illiterate intervention from the Chancellor, uh, that I have ever heard of.
Uh, nothing could, could, could, could indicate more the extent to which they've lost grip of economic principles and lost touch with reality than the notion that they could somehow interfere or intervene with pricing in what is the most competitive and effective market in the entire country.
The British supermarket and retail space is one of the most extraordinary success stories.
And as people from retail bosses themselves to the top brass at the Bank of England yesterday when asked about this ridiculous idea, pointed out that if you look at the, the, uh, the, the price comparisons and the price matching and the competition and the discounting that goes on in that sector, then it is much more effective as it already is than anything the government could do by wagging their finger or trying to, uh, encourage some sort of price cap.
And by the way, we do have to take a minute and consider that what this Chancellor and this government have done on business to the tunes of tens of billions of pounds worth of tax increases on National Insurance, on labor costs, the Employment Rights Act.
We see this week's survey data pointing out the extent to which employers are already bewildered by that and deterred from hiring, to say nothing of the energy costs, the business rate increases, a- a- and even taxes on plastic and packaging.
The government has imposed an extraordinary amount of, of taxes and regulations on the retail sector and now has the gall to tell them that they need to lower their prices when in fact, they've, they've kept those prices unbelievably well controlled in an environment in which the government has just been throwing bombs at them left, right and center.
The Chancellor now forced to consider what other levers she could pull to help Brits through the, uh, cost of living crisis, uh, that is gonna get worse over the months ahead.
And she's landed, uh, on, uh, free bus travel for children in August, um, uh, which I think tells you the extent to which they've got no room for maneuver.
Uh, but also in a sensible turn of events, she's gonna cut the tariffs on food, uh, cut the import duties on things like chocolate and, and, uh, and nuts and things that will be important to this country.
A freedom, by the way, only made possible, uh, because we're not in the Customs Union.
I mean, this is beginning to feel like the week in politics, but you have to bear with me because really not since the very height of Brexit chaos has Westminster shenanigans affected the business environment quite so much.
And forget about Liz Truss, because at least that was over and done with relatively quickly.
Um, we're in a situation where we have a government that is still trying to pull certain levers to get through a crisis that's only growing, um, and the music off, uh, from its own party are figures, uh, who would like to lead it and shake up, uh, what passes for its policy agenda.
We'll get back to the leadership election, but consider what the government has been doing, uh, just this week.
We had the most, uh, extraordinary [laughs] twist, uh, after I wrote a column, um, in which I didn't hold back on the SNP's plans in Scotland for a cap on the price of certain foods.
Uh, it never occurred to me that, uh, my entire criticism of that could just then be rewritten as a critique of the Labor government in Westminster because they began to flirt with precisely the same extraordinary idea, uh, as the lunatics north of the border.
Uh, what we understand is that, uh, they were proposing to pull back on some of the more onerous regulations, uh, and red tape that they've wrapped the retail sector in, in exchange for some sort of publicly declared voluntary cap on the price of bread and milk, uh, et cetera, et cetera.
Uh, now, obviously all hell broke loose when this story emerged, uh, and the retail chiefs involved in those discussions were not happy, and they were right to be unhappy about this most economically illiterate intervention from the Chancellor, uh, that I have ever heard of.
Uh, nothing could, could, could, could indicate more the extent to which they've lost grip of economic principles and lost touch with reality than the notion that they could somehow interfere or intervene with pricing in what is the most competitive and effective market in the entire country.
The British supermarket and retail space is one of the most extraordinary success stories.
And as people from retail bosses themselves to the top brass at the Bank of England yesterday when asked about this ridiculous idea, pointed out that if you look at the, the, uh, the, the price comparisons and the price matching and the competition and the discounting that goes on in that sector, then it is much more effective as it already is than anything the government could do by wagging their finger or trying to, uh, encourage some sort of price cap.
And by the way, we do have to take a minute and consider that what this Chancellor and this government have done on business to the tunes of tens of billions of pounds worth of tax increases on National Insurance, on labor costs, the Employment Rights Act.
We see this week's survey data pointing out the extent to which employers are already bewildered by that and deterred from hiring, to say nothing of the energy costs, the business rate increases, a- a- and even taxes on plastic and packaging.
The government has imposed an extraordinary amount of, of taxes and regulations on the retail sector and now has the gall to tell them that they need to lower their prices when in fact, they've, they've kept those prices unbelievably well controlled in an environment in which the government has just been throwing bombs at them left, right and center.
The Chancellor now forced to consider what other levers she could pull to help Brits through the, uh, cost of living crisis, uh, that is gonna get worse over the months ahead.
And she's landed, uh, on, uh, free bus travel for children in August, um, uh, which I think tells you the extent to which they've got no room for maneuver.
Uh, but also in a sensible turn of events, she's gonna cut the tariffs on food, uh, cut the import duties on things like chocolate and, and, uh, and nuts and things that will be important to this country.
A freedom, by the way, only made possible, uh, because we're not in the Customs Union.
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