“You can’t have a strong economy without a thriving domestic market,” he added.Workers’ rights reforms proposed by deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner are “the thing that worries business big time,” the founder and executive chairman of advertising company S4 Capital Plc said in a telephone interview, calling them Labour’s “Achilles heel.”“We need a plan,” Sorrell added, noting the need to reduce uncertainty. “Government is a brilliant funder but not an operator or innovator.”A longtime campaigner for bars and restaurants to be taxed the same as grocers, the founder and chairman of the pub chain argues that the current rules put his industry at a disadvantage. The hospitality industry pays higher taxes for food and alcohol, meaning supermarket groups are able to cut prices of beer and wine, Martin said.“It’s a principle of taxation that it should be fair and equitable and this inequality is inequitable, so Wetherspoon is calling on the new government to create a level playing field,” he said.Three things need to be done to help ease the shortage of new houses, according to the homebuilder’s CEO. Hospitality and retail leaders have criticized so-called business rates, which they say are unfairly high.“Our high streets are vital to the UK’s economy, yet many traditional bricks and mortar businesses are struggling under the weight of an outdated business rates structure,” he said. “This needs to be reassessed to level the playing field.”
