Reeves sinks confidence to 'all-time low'

BUSINESS directors' confidence in the UK economy has plunged to an all-time low, with firms unconvinced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s growth-focused policies as the impact of last year’s tax hikes continues to play out.

- By Mauricio Alencar

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly told MPs business confidence is at a nine-year high, pointing to a single business survey put together by Lloyds Bank. But fresh data by the Institute of Directors (IoD), which boasts some 20,000 members, suggested UK firms were far less optimistic about the economy's prospects and about their own organisations.