Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng saluted by CBI for new beginning

Plans to boost growth announced by the chancellor on Friday have been described as ‘a new beginning’ for business after a strained relationship with ministers in recent years.

Rain Newton-Smith, chief economist at the Confederation of British Industry, welcomed what she said was a “step change” in the government’s efforts to boost business investment, including corporate tax cuts, planning reforms, low-tax business zones and liberalizing from pension funds for large-scale infrastructure projects.

Relations between business leaders and Boris Johnson have been tense at times due to conflicts over Brexit. The former prime minister was revealed to have brushed aside their concerns about leaving the EU by saying ‘F*** business’.

It was read as a sign that Johnson would do everything in his power to push through a plan to leave the European Union, despite concerns from some companies that it could hinder trade and reduce labor supply.

Newton-Smith said Kwasi Kwarteng’s sweeping fiscal measures and a growth target of 2.5 percent were evidence that he recognized the need to “aim high.” “I think it’s definitely a new beginning,” she said. “This is a government in a hurry to implement an ambitious policy and an ambitious growth plan. It is a step change and a government that is ready to take bold measures.”

She added that many companies were still concerned about rising corporate rates, the end of corporate tariff relief and skyrocketing energy costs.