'It's time to get back to work' says York business leader Andrew Lowson

Andrew Lowson of the York Business Improvement District (BID) said local retailers, restaurateurs and others desperately need a good last two weeks of September ahead of the usual October dip in spending.

And more than anything else they need PM Liz Truss and her new chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng to deliver some real support for businesses in Friday's mini-budget.

Mr Lowson said mourning The Queen in the way we did had been '100 per cent the right thing to do'.

"It showed the best of British, and will maybe help people stand with their chests out a bit," he said.

Andrew Lowson, of York BID (Image: Unknown)

But the period of mourning - which further delayed any announcement of Government support for business - had come at a 'bad time', he admitted.

It coincided with national reports of a slowdown in spending caused by soaring inflation and the cost of living crisis - and came as businesses were already worried about how they were going to cope with soaring energy bills.

"Businesses are now very keen to get back to normal," Mr Lowson said. "We will definitely be looking for some good trading in the last couple of weeks of September, ahead of a likely drop-off in October."

He said it was now more important than ever for Friday's mini-budget to announce some real support for businesses. That could make all the different between it being a 'difficult winter' and a 'catastrophic winter', he said.

Businesses desperately needed certainty, so they could budget and make plans, Mr Lowson said.

That is especially true in York, where so many businesses are in the retail, hospitality and leisure sector - the very sectors which will be hardest hit by energy price rises, Mr Lowson says, because they already have the highest energy bills.

So while the promised household cap on energy bills was welcome, businesses also needed a firm commitment to something similar, he said.

The lack of any such commitment was causing real uncertainty. "Some businesses are thinking 'I just don't want to worry about increasing debt', and might take a decision to close down."

Mr Lowson, who is a member of the national #BusinessSOS campaign, said three things were urgently needed in the mini-budget on Friday - an energy price cap for businesses, a cut in VAT to stimulate spending - and action by central government to bring down business rates, at least temporarily.

York restaurateur Michael Hjort agreed that businesses needed to know that there would be some kind of limit on energy bills. Without that, they were unable to set budgets and felt as though they had a 'sword of Damocles' hanging over their heads, he said.

York restaurant boss Michael Hjort (Image: File)

Some announcement on Friday designed to boost consumer confidence, such as possibly a cut in VAT, would also help, he said.

York Central MP Rachael Maskell said national government had been paralysed for too long - and with party conference season looming, it was vital that the new Prime Minister and her team got to grips quickly with the crises facing the country.