The Government needs to show it is on side of business

Rishi Sunak may be keen to impress on businesses large and small that his Government has “got their back” but it is clear he has plenty of work to do to convince many.

This was evident as the Prime Minister gathered around 200 high-profile chief executives assembled at a Business Connect conference he convened in London.

While it is clear Mr Sunak engenders more sympathy and respect than Boris Johnson and Liz Truss managed for his understanding of the challenges facing businesses, the multiple problems of the past few years – particularly the disastrous Mini-Budget – have not been forgotten in assessments of the Conservatives’ economic record.

Mr Sunak’s own time as Chancellor is also something of a double-edge sword. Although he has the experience of running the nation’s finances, his record in charge of the Treasury is open to obvious scrutiny.

To take just one example from yesterday, Burberry chairman Gerry Murphy challenged the Prime Minister over the “spectacular own goal” to scrap a VAT refund for tourists that has now made Britain the “least attractive” shopping destination in Europe.

In a hardly-convincing response, Mr Sunak insisted there “were good reasons for it” but said he would look at the data to “see if things are panning out as we expected to, or not”.

Given that the UK is predicted to have a slowergrowing economy than other comparable nations while the country’s rate of persistent double-digit inflation is increasingly becoming an outlier, it is clear businesses need all the help they can get.

Mr Sunak has started talking the talk – now he needs to start delivering if he really wants to demonstrate that Government truly is on the side of businesses.