Business bosses say Reeves is discouraging investment

Chancellor argues that she had no real choice and that the government has 'built a rock of stability' for future planning

- DAVID MADDOX

Rachel Reeves has been accused by business chiefs of making it hard to invest in Britain, prompting her to insist there was no alternative.

Directly facing her critics at the CBI conference after weeks of negativity about her autumn Budget, a defensive chancellor pledged that businesses in the UK will not have to suffer another one like it before the next election.

Squaring up to her detractors, she told them: “I have heard a lot of feedback about my Budget but not any alternative suggestions.” Ms Reeves insisted that the government had provided a “rock of stability” so that industry could be confident in their future planning.

Businesses have not held back their anger on the increase in national insurance contributions, which has been branded a “jobs tax”. Salman Amin, the chief executive of McVitie’s owner Pladis, warned: “Going forward, it’s becoming harder to understand what the case for investment is ... to make a difference in the growth rate of the economy.”

Speaking about the national insurance hike, co-founder of Cobra Beer Lord Bilimoria told Times Radio: “If they can hear, this is not just me. This is a unanimous voice of business saying you have not listened to us. This is not going to generate growth.

“This is going to damage business. Please listen to us. Please work with us. And I’m up for them to do that. It’s not too late. It’s not too late.” Ms Reeves’s defiant riposte to the business world also came after the head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) claimed that firms were caught “off guard” by the hike in national insurance contributions.