Sheffield business boss accuses the government of handing out ‘Christmas presents’ in autumn statement

A business expert has welcomed some of the measures introduced by the chancellor in the autumn statement but urged for a long-term plan for Sheffield and the country.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt yesterday (November 22) introduced a package with 110 measures aimed at boosting the economy.

One of the highlights is that Mr Hunt announced a bigger than expected cut in national insurance – and also increased the legal minimum wage – while claiming he and the government had put the economy “back on track”.

However, Alexis Krachai, vice president of the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said this government was “very good at soundbites” and he urged everyone to look into the details of the autumn statement.

He said the government was handing out “Christmas presents” to drive popularity.

He said: “There’s a mixed bag in the chancellor’s autumn statement. On the plus side, people will welcome the reduction in national insurance.

“But we mustn’t forget that with inflation still running quite high, increases in pay means that more people are being pulled into tax.”

Mr Krachai added the hospitality sector would no doubt welcome an extension to the discount on business rates, and as a result of making full expensing permanent, manufacturing businesses – and others – were going to be able to save 25p for every pound they spend on new machinery.

“That new machinery will help drive our economy forward and help make our businesses more productive,” he said.

He added: “There is welcome new funding for centres of excellence around AI and automation, and Sheffield is well placed to make the case to the government that that funding should be invested in Sheffield and South Yorkshire.”

Mr Krachai said it was too early to talk about the potential negative impacts of the chancellor’s plans but added one of the things that the government and the chancellor could be accused of doing is only giving a little bit back after taking quite a lot.

He said: “We’ve seen huge cuts over the last decade and very little has been done to reverse those costs.”

Mr Krachai added politicians – especially in the run-up to the general election – always wanted to “pull some rabbits out of the hat”.

However, he added: “But our economy hasn’t grown very much at all over recent years and that looks set to continue.

“So what the business community in Sheffield – and in fact, business communities across the country represented by British chambers of commerce – will be looking for in the spring is a long-term plan to really drive growth and investment across the economy.

“And at the moment, the government and particularly the Chancellor, they’re trying to offer out a few Christmas presents to drive popularity from the electorate.”