Reeves is choking off the very people Britain needs to grow, and Britain’s entrepreneurs know it

The Chancellor’s proposed measures, I fear, are the final nail in the coffin for the average person and for businesses alike. The role of the Chancellor is clear: drive economic growth, stimulate spending and increase GDP.

Right now, she is fundamentally failing at all three. If these decisions didn’t directly affect me, my colleagues, and the thousands of businesses trying to survive, Reeves’ lack of awareness would be laughable.

In March 2025, the Prime Minister committed to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence. While this is a sensible ambition on paper, it is fundamentally flawed if GDP stagnates.

A 0.1% increase in GDP in Q3 2025 is hardly grounds for celebration. My concern is that pending tax rises, the scrapping of the two-child benefit cap, which will cost working people an additional £3.5bn a year, and the lack of incentives for building or scaling meaningful businesses in the UK will only push more entrepreneurs and employers overseas.

We cannot claim to be a pro-growth nation while simultaneously punishing the very people expected to generate that growth.

Reeves is now tasked with filling an alleged £22bn black hole, yet I struggle to understand how increasing taxes for entrepreneurs and the middle classes, alongside implementing a wealth tax, is expected to stimulate innovation or attract inward investment.

It simply won’t. Instead, it risks driving out the very individuals who power the economy, create jobs and bring new industries to life.

My business, PinPoint Media, is a service-sector business, just like roughly 75% of the UK economy. We rely on people to trade. Unlike tech or product companies, where scale can come from selling more units or software, our growth is directly linked to hiring more people.

With rising living costs, proposed personal tax increases and the National Insurance rises from the last budget, it is becoming incredibly difficult to justify bringing on new staff.

This ultimately stagnates our growth, stalls investment into people and, by extension, slows the wider economy. When service businesses stop hiring, GDP will inevitably suffer.

With 1,000 jobs disappearing every day across the UK, shouldn’t Labour be incentivising businesses to hire staff to kickstart the economy, rather than incentivising those on benefits to have more children by removing the two-child benefit cap?

Don’t get me wrong: in 2026, we want to hire more people, increase salaries and invest inwardly. But the looming budget has put all of that on hold. We’re now in limbo.

We cannot forecast with certainty, budget with accuracy, or confidently plan investment. Our strategy until year-end is simply to batten down the hatches.

Unfortunately, I know I’m not alone. The uncertainty surrounding whether Reeves truly grasps the consequences of her decisions is a sentiment echoed by peers across many sectors.

The infighting within the Labour Party, the confusion between Reeves and Starmer, evidenced by repeated U-turns, and the disregard for manifesto pledges all contribute to making the UK appear unstable.

It’s becoming harder to justify investing in an economy that seems determined to penalise innovation, punish the middle classes and tighten the noose around start-up and scale-up businesses.

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Oliver Bruce is a self-made Investor & Entrepreneur

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