Reeves dented confidence with speech, says M&S boss

The boss of Marks & Spencer has said Rachel Reeves has made his customers “more worried” about rising costs with her pre-budget speech as retailers prepare for the key Christmas trading period.

- Sarah Butler

Stuart Machin said his shoppers were “worried about rising costs and they did get more worried” after the chancellor failed to rule out breaking manifesto pledges not to raise key taxes in her speech on Tuesday.

The M&S chief executive suggested Reeves’s lack of detail in spelling out her plans had left shoppers and businesses unsure about what new costs they could face in the months ahead. “Shoppers are planning for a good Christmas, but planning for the worst with the budget and hoping for the best,” he said.

Expressing frustration about the timing of the fiscal event - just two days before Black Friday on 28 November, the discount day which has become one of the year’s busiest shopping days - Machin said: “We are all sitting here waiting for the 26th.”