‘There has to be a bolder shift’: retail and hospitality businesses assess relief in budget

Chancellor cuts business rates for more small businesses and limits rise in minimum wage for younger workers

• Budget 2026: key points at a glance

“It is like letting the tyres down and then handing you a pump,” says James Nye, assessing the relief handed to businesses in John Healey’s first budget as chancellor.

The managing director of Norfolk’s Anglian Country Inns argues that the budget made a “couple of steps towards helping” but added more labour costs for already burdened companies.

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