Economic and Taxation Policies: Jobs, Growth and Prosperity

Lord Marks of Hale Excerpts

Thursday 13th November 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Marks of Hale (Con)]

My Lords, it is always a pleasure to follow my noble friend Lord Wharton. I congratulate my noble friend Lord Elliott on bringing this most relevant of debates to the House.

I ask the Minister: how do higher business taxes, increased regulatory burdens and policy uncertainty encourage the very entrepreneurs and small firms we rely on for jobs, growth and innovation? Britain does not need more bureaucracy and taxes; it needs belief in enterprise and to allow our wealth creators—the very people who see a gap in the market and take a risk—to have confidence to invest in Britain. Our small business owners, entrepreneurs and innovators, who employ more than 16 million people in this country, are at the whim of government policy. When confidence is negative, investment stalls, jobs are lost and not replaced, and growth slows to a trickle.

Some of Britain’s largest companies are suffering too. Dominic Paul, the CEO of Whitbread, which owns the Premier Inn chain, said recently:

“You cannot just keep taxing businesses. We have got to be the beating heart of a growing economy. If taxes go up, responsible businesses will cut costs, staff and investment and you won’t get growth”.


Never before has global competition been so intense. Nations are racing to attract investment, talent and capital in technology, energy, advanced manufacturing and AI. We ought to be at the forefront of that race and we are not. Instead, businesses have been met with uncertainty, mixed signals and a tax environment that risks dulling enterprise rather than accelerating it.

Let us examine some of the evidence. The Autumn Budget in 2024 hiked national insurance contributions to 15%, coupled with a slashed secondary threshold which has had the effect of piling billions of extra costs on to businesses already grappling with slim margins. In short, rising NI is not just a tax on jobs; it is a tax on opportunity. We simply cannot expect a job-led recovery if we make job creation more expensive. Every time the cost of hiring increases, a door closes for someone who wants to work, train or make a start in life. This is not theoretical; it is happening on high streets, factory floors, building sites and across the tech sector.

In the north-west, where I live and am involved in a number of businesses in the UK and beyond, I have heard from tech entrepreneurs delaying hires or automating roles because they simply cannot afford the added burden. This means preventing one less apprentice and one less parent from re-entering the workforce. The national cumulative effect is causing job losses in the thousands as businesses rush to cut payrolls. The double whammy of a rise in capital gains tax is deterring investors and founders, hitting tech exits and prompting an exodus of skilled talent to more welcoming shores such as the United States and the UAE. Even carried interest taxation jumping to 32% risks starving venture capital that fuels our start-ups.

On these Benches, we advocate for lower taxes to ignite ambition, deregulation for innovation and targeted support for digital skills. How many more unicorns must we lose and how many more innovators need to emigrate before this Government pay attention? These policies are not economically sound, and they are an assault on aspiration.

Wealth is not created by the state, and entrepreneurs are not asking for subsidies; they are asking for stability, clarity and trust. They want to know that their success will be celebrated, not penalised, and that the Government will provide an environment to support those with the courage to build, hire and create. That is the only path for lasting jobs, growth and national prosperity. As Dom Hallas, the executive director of the Startup Coalition lobby group, said:

“Any action at the budget should be focused on motivating entrepreneurs to stay here, not holding them for ransom”.


I urge the Minister to restore trust in our innovators and entrepreneurs, to be their ally and not their obstacle and to secure this country’s future by giving enterprise back its freedom.