As we reach the halfway point of 2025, and almost 12 months on from the General Election, it seems a reasonable time to ask a question that’s on the lips of many business owners.

It is also clear that the ‘mood music’ among businesses is incredibly mixed, to put it politely, and this consistent hum of general disaffection endures as the unwelcome soundtrack to this government’s policy agenda to date.

The increased tax burden and costs placed on businesses still managing the long-tail of Covid loan repayments, hyper-inflationary utilities costs in 2022-3 and post-Brexit trading complexity, has been exacerbated by a fluctuating geo-political climate and a foreboding sense that business is seen as a sweatable asset for the state to prop up the public sector.

Repeatedly in the past twelve months, it has felt as if the tension between long-term strategic planning and short-term fixes has become almost irreconcilable. The NIC levy, National Minimum Wage increase, and the developing Employment Rights Bill all represent major short-term pressure points that are hurting or threatening businesses. Despite its claims, the government has not “put more money in people’s pockets”, businesses have – and they need to find it from somewhere.

At Liverpool Chamber’s own Executive Network event on Friday, several Patrons and Partner businesses reflected on how they – or firms within their supply chain – are initiating redundancies, restructuring, pausing recruitment and/or reducing investment. This mirrors national data from BCC showing a third of firms reporting they have made or plan to make redundancies as direct result of the NICs increase. The results of our latest Quarterly Economic Survey, released later this week, are likely to only reinforce that sentiment.

Those near-term ailments contrast vividly with the Prime Minister’s unveiling of a new long-term UK trade strategy, dovetailed with the ten-year industrial strategy announced a week prior, and his determination focus on a “hat-trick” of trade deals with the EU, US and India – understandable for a government seeking to demonstrate its growth commitment.

There is strong evidence to suggest that the Liverpool City Region will ultimately benefit from further long-term investment in areas such as health & life sciences, or creative industries, but when and at what cost?

The Prime Minister’s “you can’t tax your way to growth” comment to the BBC’s Wake Up to Money last week will either be his mantra or epitaph come this Autumn’s Budget. The British Chamber’s demand for businesses to be spared further taxation must be observed.

So, what can we ascertain from the ongoing mood music and what should the government do get a better a tune out of businesses and, ultimately, the economy?

Mood music is a gloriously unofficial barometer for reflecting business sentiment. Amidst our evidence base of surveys, economic analyses and reports, mood music arguably provides the most tangible sense of how things really are.

There is no doubt that melody of members has been downbeat for the most part this year. A lament at times. The government must work harder to translate longer-term opportunities – both national and regional – into attainable and deliverable opportunities if it wants to orchestrate more high-tempo harmonies.

Skills, trade and utility costs are three planks upon which a prosperous UK can be built, one which embraces innovation, devolves local decision-making and recognises that businesses are to be cultivated, not squeezed. Firm action must be taken to meet short- and long-term needs.

Our Executive Event on Friday was subtitled “A Celebration of Excellence” and gave us insights from The Jockey Club, Lexus Liverpool and Liverpool John Lennon Airport about the enabling of excellence within their organisations.

It served as a timely reminder that, amid the big-picture opportunities Rachel Reeves and others would like to focus on, in reality it will be businesses capable of delivering, scaling and growing that will ultimately be the providers of growth and for whom ‘more carrot and less stick’ must become a philosophy.

Businesses need to believe in the long-term opportunities, or the long-term opportunities won’t really exist.