BUSINESS owners around the UK have called for the Chancellor to resign following claims that she knew the country was in a surplus of £4.2 billion before ploughing ahead with a punitive fiscal Budget that will make it even harder for them to operate.
One demanded “heads must roll”, another said her actions were “a betrayal of growth for the sake of failed ideology” while a third accused the Government of “political fraud”. The Chancellor has denied she deceived the public.
Things have subsequently gone from bad to worse for Rachel Reeves, as Nigel Farage has now written to Sir Laurie Magnus, the Independent Adviser on Ministers’ Interests, demanding an inquiry into whether she is potentially guilty of “serious breaches of the ministerial code”.
Meanwhile, Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride has written to the Financial Conduct Authority “calling for a full investigation into potential market abuse at HM Treasury and No.10.”
On 31st October, the Chancellor was told by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), the body that provides independent economic forecasts and analysis of the public finances, that the country had a £4.2 billion surplus.
On 4th November, in an unusual pre-Budget presser, she said that productivity performance “is weaker than previously thought” before, a few weeks later, announcing a Budget that would make conditions even more challenging for business.
In an interview, the Chancellor has since denied she lied.
Business owners accuse Chancellor of “political fraud”
Business owners, sharing their views with Newspage, were scathing in their assessment of the claims and said the Chancellor’s position is no longer tenable.
Colette Mason, Author & AI Consultant at Clever Clogs AI, said: “This isn’t economics; it’s political fraud. The government deliberately trailed a crippling black hole message to justify a punitive budget to fund its welfare agenda. If you knowingly mislead the public about the nation’s finances, you are not fit to govern.”
Rohit Parmar-Mistry, Founder at Burton-on-Trent-based AI specialists Pattrn Data, agreed: “If the books were in the black while the public was told to brace for the red, it isn’t just an accounting error, it’s a betrayal of growth for the sake of failed ideology.”
Kundan Bhaduri, Entrepreneur at London-based The Kushman Group, said the public had been deceived and called for the Chancellor to resign: “Can anyone dispute that this was deliberate deception? Labour knew the public finances were healthier than advertised, yet hammered businesses regardless.
“Property developers like myself face higher employment costs, frozen investment decisions and reduced hiring plans because the Chancellor preferred political theatre to economic honesty.
“She has weaponised a fictional crisis to justify ideological tax grabs to keep her backbenchers happy while unemployment climbs to three year highs and business confidence crumbles. If this is not grounds for resignation, what is?”
“Heads must roll”
Ranald Mitchell, Director at Norwich-based Charwin Mortgages, described the whole situation as “shocking” and demanded resignations: “If the OBR said we were in surplus and the Government still delivered a punitive Budget, then the ‘black hole’ was a convenient fiction and the country has been lied to. It’s shocking.
“The graft and risk-taking of Britain’s business owners is being steamrolled by a Government obsessed with swelling welfare while punishing those who actually drive the economy. If they knew the surplus existed, serious questions need asking of the Chancellor and Number 10. These people have monumental questions to answer.
“This is a crisis of honesty, not economics. This isn’t just misjudgement. It’s a betrayal so brazen it’s hard not to feel the country’s been strung up by its own Government and heads must roll. Both the Prime Minister’s and Chancellor’s positions and credibility as government leaders have been irreversibly damaged and they should resign.”
Anita Wright, Chartered Financial Planner at Ribble Wealth Management, said trust in the Government has been decimated and also criticised the OBR: “If the OBR is privately telling the Government there is a £4.2bn surplus, yet the public is being sold a terrifying “black hole” to justify a punishing Budget, this is no longer about forecasts – it is about trust.
“I do not object to Reeves wanting more headroom; given the OBR’s dire forecasting record, the instinct to build a bigger buffer is understandable and, on its own, defensible. What is indefensible is the way this has been handled.
“The handling of the OBR itself only adds to the sense of farce. You have an institution that is meant to underpin credibility and transparency, yet we have Budget numbers appearing in the media before Reeves has even delivered her statement.”
Trust in Government lost
Scott Gallacher, Director at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, a wealth manager, also said trust has been lost: “To now discover that there wasn’t even a headroom issue in the first place is deeply concerning. It fundamentally undermines trust in the Government.
“If the OBR had already made clear that the public finances were actually in surplus, then why did the Chancellor proceed with such a punitive fiscal Budget? And if the Treasury and Number 10 knew this, it raises very serious questions about judgment at the very top of Government.
“At best, it looks like spectacular incompetence. At worst, it suggests the public were misled. Either way, it’s hard to see how this crisis doesn’t engulf Downing Street in the days ahead.”
Patricia McGirr, Founder at Burnley-based Repossession Rescue Network, was equally scathing: “The Government haven’t just taken penny pinching to a new level. They’ve weaponised it. They skimmed pounds from the pockets of hardworking people and small businesses to prop up a lie.
“The OBR has blown the lid off it and exposed a Government willing to mislead the very people keeping the country afloat to pursue an agenda based on crushing ambition. This isn’t misjudgement. It is a calculated move that shows just how far they’ll go to get their plans through, whatever the cost to the wider economy.
“Whatever is left of their credibility has now vanished. The audacity is staggering. If this isn’t misconduct at the highest level, what is? Unbelievable. Unforgivable. Unelectable.”
Counting the cost
Sam Kirk, Managing Director at Retford-based J-Flex Rubber Products, believes we may have a new Prime Minister and Chancellor in the not-so-distant future.
He said: “The OBR pointed to a £4.2bn surplus and Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves still pushed ahead with a Budget that hits people hard. They keep saying “we’re listening” but their actions last week felt like sticking two fingers up to the public and to their own independent watchdog.
“The country needed change when Labour came to power. What it got was a Government that is dishonest, incompetent, ignores warnings and behaves as if accountability is optional. At this point it feels like a question of when the PM or the Chancellor go, not if.”
Meanwhile, Justin Moy, Managing Director at Chelmsford-based EHF Mortgages, worried that the Government’s lack of transparency could have cost everyday homeowners millions.
He said: “The Government failed to understand the impact its actions would have had on the Swap and Gilt markets, potentially costing mortgage holders millions in additional interest cost, whilst slowing our economy to a virtual standstill as businesses and the public waited for the worst news on the Budget.
“The Chancellor has hoodwinked everyone, the OBR has spilt the beans and the government are toast.”
Photo by Lukas Baumann on Unsplash
