‘Worried’ Luton businesses back SOS campaign over Government economic crisis

Businesses are calling for clarity and action from the Government

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt yesterday (Monday) ditched almost all of Prime Minister Liz Truss's tax cuts announced in the government's mini-budget just three weeks ago, adding to the uncertainty faced by businesses up and down the high street.

The national #BusinessSOS campaign group has unveiled its own three-point plan to help businesses, including cutting business energy bills to match domestic billing, and is urging Government to clarify its position further.

Julia Horsman, Luton BID Project Manager said: “This is such a worrying time for Luton town centre businesses, which is why we’re wholeheartedly backing the Business SOS Campaign and the call for significant support to help businesses to survive the cost-of-living crisis.

The campaign states: “The statement by the Chancellor will go some way to reassuring over 150,000 retail, leisure and hospitality businesses who are facing the daily dilemma of closure, triggering mass unemployment, which will only accelerate the threat of recession.

“Clarity is still needed on how the Government plans to define the ‘most affected businesses’ when the Treasury reviews future energy support measures. It is vital that the needs of high street businesses are taken into account to ensure over 150,000 businesses do not fall through the cracks once again.”

Julia said: “The future looks bright for our town in the long term, with lots of investment as part of Luton Council’s 2040 vision and the Town Centre Masterplan, but Luton BID strongly believes that action needs to be taken now to ensure our businesses are still around to be a part of all that.

“We are really proud of the offering we have in the town centre, and especially the resilience local retailers, pubs, restaurants and businesses have shown over the last few years as they have bounced back post pandemic. We now need to do everything it takes to make sure they have enough support in place to navigate these new challenges.”

The campaign says high street businesses need to be on an equal footing with larger businesses, and urged the Government to implement its three-point plan ahead of the planned fiscal announcement later this month.