What Should the New Prime Minister Do First for UK Businesses?

HFE Signs · Jul 20, 2026

With Andy Burnham now serving as the UK's new Prime Minister, business owners across the country will be watching closely to see what comes next.

Rather than debating politics, here's a question for the UKBF community:

If you could write directly to the Prime Minister with just one request on behalf of UK businesses, what would it be?

I'll go first...

A 5% reduction in VAT. I believe it would help stimulate spending, ease pressure on businesses and consumers alike, and give the economy a much-needed boost.

Now it's your turn.

If you had one request—and one request only—what would you ask for, and why?

fisicx · Jul 20, 2026

Fix all the potholes. Reduces wear on vehicles, driver stress and improves traffic flow. Faster deliveries, lower operating costs and removes endless claims to local councils.

Gecko001 · Jul 20, 2026

Give those black T-shirts to a charity shop. Russia has a habit of invading countries who are run by people in black T-shirts.

Codeunkie1992 · Jul 20, 2026

Gecko001 said:
Give those black T-shirts to a charity shop. Russia has a habit of invading countries who are run by people in black T-shirts.

Clothing choices do not drive geopolitics. Leadership decision, history and strategy do. It is better to focus on real causes rather than symbolic coincidences.

MikeJ · Jul 20, 2026

Build houses. It creates employment and reduces housing costs, which means people have more disposable income. That boosts the economy.

Have a sensible green energy policy. Stop exporting our emissions and patting ourselves on the back claiming we've done a great job, while India and China burn carbon to make the stuff we used to make.

Join a customs union with the EU.

Invade Spain.

fisicx · Jul 20, 2026

MikeJ said:
Build houses.

They are building thousands of them round here. All big expensive things for the commuters. All it does is clog up the already busy roads.

DoolallyTap · Jul 20, 2026

Resign and call an election.

Newchodge · Jul 21, 2026

Increase the Employer NI threshold to £12,570

MikeJ · Jul 21, 2026

Drop employee NI by 1%, and put it on income tax. Do that annually until it disappears.

Data Swami · Jul 21, 2026

Bin off Austerity and get people more disposable income and probably nationalise some of those public goods

Paul Kelly ICHYB · Jul 21, 2026

MikeJ said:
Build houses.

Council houses

Increase tax threshold floor to £20k

Change VAT registration to either £150k OR £20k (different reasons/effects).

HFE Signs · Jul 21, 2026

Someone in our office said 'scrap the new food bins' - their view is mixing food waste with non recyclable waste will speed up the natural breaking down process in landfill, interesting point and how much money has been spent on the food waste system?

MikeJ · Jul 21, 2026

Paul Kelly ICHYB said:
Council houses

Increase tax threshold floor to £20k

Change VAT registration to either £150k OR £20k (different reasons/effects).

Not too bothered if they're council houses or private, but they should be of a low enough cost for those towards the bottom end of the earnings spectrum to be able to live in them.

Tax threshold - no great view on that, but I think there's a definite benefit of (almost) everyone paying tax. That way they feel part of the game, rather than just getting stuff without contributing. A lower tax bracket of (say) 10% between £12k and £20k would be preferable in my mind.

HFE Signs · Jul 21, 2026

Stamp Duty could do with a fresh look too if the plan is to boost the economy

Newchodge · Jul 21, 2026

HFE Signs said:
Stamp Duty could do with a fresh look too if the plan is to boost the economy

All that does is allow those with a property to sell to charge more for it. It has happened very time they have reduced or tinkered with Stamp Duty.

HFE Signs · Jul 21, 2026

Newchodge said:
All that does is allow those with a property to sell to charge more for it. It has happened very time they have reduced or tinkered with Stamp Duty.

Yep, it does also stimulate the property market though

Newchodge · Jul 21, 2026

HFE Signs said:
Yep, it does also stimulate the property market though

Isn't that the last thing that is needed?

Newchodge · Jul 21, 2026

MikeJ said:
I think there's a definite benefit of (almost) everyone paying tax. That way they feel part of the game, rather than just getting stuff without contributing

That was Thatcher's bogus claim when she tried to introduce the poll tax. I have never met anyone who cannot afford to pay their bills who feels any interest whatsoever in being 'part of the game'.

fisicx · Jul 21, 2026

MikeJ said:
Not too bothered if they're council houses or private, but they should be of a low enough cost for those towards the bottom end of the earnings spectrum to be able to live in them.

Except builders don't want to build houses like this - not enough profit in them. A 6 bed house is far cheaper to build than three 2 bed houses.

MikeJ · Jul 21, 2026

Newchodge said:
That was Thatcher's bogus claim when she tried to introduce the poll tax. I have never met anyone who cannot afford to pay their bills who feels any interest whatsoever in being 'part of the game'.

Yeah, you're using an argument against a flat tax to say a progressive tax isn't the right move though.

DWS · Jul 21, 2026

Well, he has already announced that there will be no more VAT on electricity which should save the average household a massive £45 per year, luckily being an Accountant I can work out this is less than a £1 a week!!
Does he really thinks that this is going to help people?
And then it comes to who will fund it?

MikeJ · Jul 21, 2026

fisicx said:
Except builders don't want to build houses like this - not enough profit in them. A 6 bed house is far cheaper to build than three 2 bed houses.

Then don't give them planning permission.

fisicx · Jul 21, 2026

MikeJ said:
Then don't give them planning permission.

Wonderful concept but it doesn’t work like that. They appeal all they way up and overrule local councils.

DWS · Jul 21, 2026

MikeJ said:
Then don't give them planning permission.

So you you think everyone who has worked hard all their lives should have no other choice but to live in a 2 bedroom house because they can not get permission to build anything bigger?

Paul Kelly ICHYB · Jul 21, 2026

DWS said:
hich should save the average household a massive £45 per year

They don't do anything, people complain.
They do something, people complain!

DWS · Jul 21, 2026

Paul Kelly ICHYB said:
They don't do anything, people complain.
They do something, people complain!

I would rather they done nothing than to be so disrespectful than to think that less than £1 a week saving is going to help, and actually have the audacity to announce it.
Just shows what a total tosser he really is, to be this patronising to the British public.

Newchodge · Jul 21, 2026

DWS said:
Well, he has already announced that there will be no more VAT on electricity which should save the average household a massive £45 per year, luckily being an Accountant I can work out this is less than a £1 a week!!
Does he really thinks that this is going to help people?
And then it comes to who will fund it?

Also, the supplier does not have to pass on a VAT cut.

Newchodge · Jul 21, 2026

DWS said:
So you you think everyone who has worked hard all their lives should have no other choice but to live in a 2 bedroom house because they can not get permission to build anything bigger?

I think that a family with a child should be able to find an affordable 2-bedroom house to live in.

People do not build houses. Large construction companies build houses and they want to build the ones that bring them the greatest profit, which is not the same as building houses people can afford to live in

DWS · Jul 21, 2026

Newchodge said:
I think that a family with a child should be able to find an affordable 2-bedroom house to live in.

People do not build houses. Large construction companies build houses and they want to build the ones that bring them the greatest profit, which is not the same as building houses people can afford to live in

And there are plenty out there!
But then it becomes the debate of what is affordable?
Or why should a family with a child who have never done a days work in their lives be given a 2 bedroom house but 2,working parents can not afford to buy one.
At the moment there is no incentive to work in this country!

HFE Signs · Jul 21, 2026

Newchodge said:
Isn't that the last thing that is needed?

Well a builder wouldn't say so

MikeJ · Jul 21, 2026

Newchodge said:
Also, the supplier does not have to pass on a VAT cut.

Is that taken care of in the price cap? I know some companies are going under the cap though.

NickGrogan · Jul 21, 2026

Don't have fraudsters and tax dodgers as ministers.

Don't lie.

Don't pretend a tiny saving is actually going to make any difference

Build 30,000 new prison spaces - directly stimulates the economy

Zero tolerance of all crimes - hence the need for the prison spaces.

Make prisoners work or study whilst in prison. If they leave prison with no skills/experience how are they going to get a job?

Financial incentives for hiring former prisoners - no employers NI and grants on top.

Life sentence should mean life, no let out in a few years.

fisicx · Jul 21, 2026

Ban electric bloody scooters. And those stonking great Chelsea tractors. And anyone who feels they need to use a Range Rover to deliver Dennis half a mile to school.

NickGrogan · Jul 21, 2026

Newchodge said:
Also, the supplier does not have to pass on a VAT cut.

What do you mean by this? Do you think suppliers can continue to charge VAT when the rate is 0?

MikeJ · Jul 21, 2026

NickGrogan said:
What do you mean by this? Do you think suppliers can continue to charge VAT when the rate is 0?

No. In simple numbers, let's say they're charging £1 + 5% VAT per KWH, so £1.05. It can be argued that the market price (what a customer is willing to pay) is £1.05, so the supplier will just start charging £1.05 per KWH. That's what the customer is willing to pay.

I don't think that will happen though. The market for electricity is quite competitive, so it will generally be passed on to the customer

NickGrogan · Jul 21, 2026

MikeJ said:
No. In simple numbers, let's say they're charging £1 + 5% VAT per KWH, so £1.05. It can be argued that the market price (what a customer is willing to pay) is £1.05, so the supplier will just start charging £1.05 per KWH. That's what the customer is willing to pay.

I don't think that will happen though. The market for electricity is quite competitive, so it will generally be passed on to the customer

Except that there is a price cap for energy, so the supplier cannot increase the unit rates, unless they are currently below the cap.

A few suppliers are, but given that they are trying to win customers on price, it seems unlikely they will increase prices to cover the VAT saving.

Of course Ofgem will announce new prices for Oct 26 (when the VAT reduction happens) in last August, and the price increase will probably be more than the saving in VAT. But this is not something that the suppliers control.

Are there any cases where a major company has not passed a reduction in VAT to domestic customers?

Gecko001 · Wednesday at 10:48 AM

Just a rant about how the abolishment of the VAT on electricity announcement was reported on radio and TV. I must have heard a dozen news reports on the subject who quoted the figure of £45 mentioned, and sometimes with no reference to the fact that it was for the average household. Not once did I hear anybody mention the present rate of 5%.

Also, does the average household, really exist and if it did would every average household use the same amount of electricity?

NickGrogan · Wednesday at 11:02 AM

Gecko001 said:
Just a rant about how the abolishment of the VAT on electricity announcement was reported on radio and TV. I must have heard a dozen news reports on the subject who quoted the figure of £45 mentioned, and sometimes with no reference to the fact that it was for the average household. Not once did I hear anybody mention the present rate of 5%.

Also, does the average household, really exist, and if it did would every average household use the same amount of electricity?

Its like when ofgem quotes the price cap - £1500 per year or whatever it is.

That is based on an average household consumption, and then the average rates. But because of the way energy pricing works in the UK, no one pays the average rate.

So even if you lived in the ideal average household and used the precise average amount of electricity and gas that Ofgem quotes, your bill and therefore your VAT saving would never match the price cap.

I guess statically the average might be £45, but poor households will save a lot less, whilst those in large houses with swimming pools, sauna and EVs will save far more.

I know of a few properties who will be saving about £600 per year.

Its a sound bite policy, its not actually going to make much difference to anybody, and given that there is no saving on gas - the main heating fuel during the winter, it's not really going to do much to reduce fuel poverty.

But it will put about 12p per day in the "working man's" pocket.

Can I buy a freddo for that?

MikeJ · Wednesday at 11:16 AM

FFS, they have to supply some context. If they just said "5% VAT is removed" everyone will be wondering what it means to them. So they give a typical figure, so it has some context. Some people will save £30, some £60. But it's not £600 or £6, unless you're very unusual in your energy usage.

NickGrogan · Wednesday at 11:21 AM

Do you think the average brit is incapable of working out 5% of their energy bill?

Given that the number is literally written on the energy bill...

What happen to all those record GCSE and A level pass rates? 52% of under 29s have a degree.

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What Should the New Prime Minister Do First for UK Businesses?