Keir Starmer warns of ‘painful’ autumn budget

The prime minister has warned that this year’s budget will be “painful” during a speech delivered today in Downing Street’s rose garden.

 

Keir Starmer claimed his government had discovered a £22bn “black hole” in the public finances left by the previous administration and warned that “difficult” and “unpopular” decisions would have to be taken to balance the nation’s books so that “everyone benefits in the long term”.

 

Although he did not mention the hospitality sector in his address, Starmer said his government will “introduce legislation and take decisions to protect taxpayers’ money” and “reverse a decade of decline”.

 

He asked the country “to accept short term pain for long term good” to create “an economy that works for everyone”.

 

How could Labour’s plans impact hospitality?

The government set out its priorities in the King’s Speech on 17 July. These included an Employment Rights Bill that is expected to ban zero-hours contracts, despite some reports suggesting plans may be watered down.

 

Employers will also be required to give workers “reasonable notice” of any changes to shifts and compensation for any cancelled or curtailed shifts. This could force many hospitality venues to change their staffing policy and ensure rotas are fixed further in advance.

 

There will also be extensions to workers’ rights and a reform of the the apprenticeship levy.

 

The government has said it will remove "discriminatory" age bands on the National Minimum Wage, but it is expected this will take several years to come into force.

 

New organisation Skills England will be set up in phases over the next nine to 12 months to work with businesses and on migration policy to fill skills gaps nationwide.

 

Labour promised a reform of the business rates system in its manifesto but there was no mention of the policy in the King’s Speech.

 

The next budget is expected to be delivered by chancellor Rachel Reeves at the end of October.

 

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