Suffolk Chamber statement on Sir Keir Starmer's resignation and what should happen next

Historically, the demands of the electoral cycle in this country and the needs of Governments to deliver short-term impacts to boost their opinion poll standings has frequently made for poor economic decision-making over the longer-term. This has frequently impacted on business investment decisions, as owners and management teams opt for a cautious ‘wait-and-see’ approach.

With businesses across the East of England still having to navigate some of the most challenging trading and hiring conditions over the last decade and more, what is needed now from Government is clarity of policies and stability of purpose.

Suffolk Chamber of Commerce believes it is imperative that any new leadership needs to both continue with those pro-business policies of the Starmer administration that were beginning to work, such as the rollout of free trade deals, and make a clear commitment across the remainder of this Parliament to wind back the most damaging ones, especially the tax increases in the 2024 Budget.

We hope that the new Prime Minister will be able to reach across the partisan divide and will work with the main opposition parties to deliver a proper investment programme for the wholesale upgrade of our region’s poor road, rail, connectivity and utilities infrastructure over the coming decades. Equally, we urge that the initial devolution plans for Suffolk and Norfolk, whilst only a modest first step, are delivered with no further delays to allow our region a better chance to unlock its full economic potential.