Marshall Manson, our chair of corporate affairs, was asked for his instant take on yesterday’s budget announcement 👇
PR Week asked me to provide an instant reaction to today's UK budget announcement. Here it is. Link to the PR Week story in the first comment. Labour has said from the beginning that they wanted to prioritise serious policy-making and responsible governing. But since taking office, their communications approach has made their policy workings appear chaotic. As a result, this budget has been a particularly gruesome exercise in public sausage-making. Having finally reached the formal red box moment, the resulting sausage looks edible, and even enticing. Delivered with confidence, the Chancellor found means to invest in key areas of the UK economy, provided funding to stabilise the NHS, and support substantial capital initiatives. Still, much of the burden of rising taxes falls on business. Increased employer NI and a significant increase to minimum wage will make it harder for businesses to expand payrolls. She’s been careful to reassure gilt markets, and the price of UK government debt dropped substantially during her speech, although it has ticked upwards this afternoon. Follow-on analysis will focus on whether Labour over-egged its doom and gloom messaging in the run-up and whether the economic strategy goes far enough. But considered in the round, the Chancellor’s proposals read as reasonable and responsible given the UK’s fiscal realities. She has also projected a greater degree of certainty and predictability. And with global upheaval and unpredictability sure to surge following next week’s U.S. election, this budget might help position the UK as a bastion of relative calm and normality in a messy geopolitical landscape.
