IoD Weekly Policy Report 3 - 7 July 2023

Markets are increasingly factoring in higher interest rates, as inflation remains way above the Bank of England’s baseline of 2%. RMT has announced strikes on the London Underground for the end of July as a row over pensions and working conditions has reached breaking point. Thames Water is being scrutinised for their alleged faults. Our solution? Stick to the Pimm’s. Oh, and Wimbledon started this week, but we’re not distracted by that…

Line judging

In 2021, the government set the UK a target to reach £1 trillion worth of exports by 2023. It’s certainly an ambitious goal. The Business and Trade Select Committee then asked for opinions on how achievable their goal is. We analysed the data, drew up a graph and came to a conclusion here.

Set the scene

We hosted the July 2023 Director’s Quarterly Update webinar, in which we presented to members a report of key developments in the UK economy, government policy and company data. You can access the full report, which is exclusive to members, here.

What’s the score?

Director confidence plummeted in June. Each month we track business sentiment by asking members how optimistic or pessimistic they feel in the prospects for the UK economy. In June, 22% of businesses responded optimistic compared to 55% pessimistic. The rate of inflation, political instability and falling customer demand in the UK were cited as some of the top reasons for this drop in confidence.

Next week’s order of play…

Monday 10 July

• The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, will deliver the Mansion House Speech, which is an opportunity to give an update on the current state of the economy and future proposals.

Tuesday 11 July

• ONS will publish UK labour market statistics, including the rate of wage inflation in May, and the unemployment rate for March-May.

Wednesday 12 July

• Prime Minister’s Questions at midday

Thursday 13 July

• ONS will release GDP data for May 2023
• ONS will release trade statistics for May 2023