GGF Budget Response

GGF Director Praful Nargund said:

“There are two sides to this coin: the Government is making some good moves on the cost of living, but is deeply constrained by a broken system.

“We have been campaigning for a budget that backs the grafters, even in the context of challenging public finances. 

“So we’re pleased to see many of our calls taken on board, whether on the cost of living, scale-ups support, boosting relief for retail and hospitality businesses, and property taxation - while keeping public services protected and steering clear of austerity. 

“But this Budget has exposed the strain of Britain’s broken economic system. The OBR’s accidental, avoidable error is a display of incompetence and a symptom of deeper dysfunction.

“Thanks to the OBR, fiscal headroom appears and disappears overnight, forcing Chancellors into last-minute decisions shaped by short-term forecasts instead of long-term strategy. The OBR has become the tail that wags the dog.

“A body designed to police cuts is now being asked to referee a strategy for growth, and it simply isn’t built for the task. That’s why the policies that would drive real growth struggle to make it through the system.  

“Until the framework itself is reformed, it risks keeping Britain stuck in a low-growth cycle.”