Can Hammond’s Budget make business feel better about Brexit?

‘Uncertainty is draining investment from the UK, with Brexit having a negative impact on eight in ten businesses,’ says Carolyn Fairbairn of the CBI. OK, let’s pause for a chorus of ‘She would say that, wouldn’t she?’ But even if we shade off for ‘scaremongering’, her survey (of 236 firms) is bleak: ‘44 per cent of businesses with contingency plans intend to stockpile goods… 30 per cent intend to relocate production and services overseas… 15 per cent intend to move jobs…’ And I’ve seen no rival surveys that contradict the gist of it. So what can Monday’s Budget do to make business feel better?

Suggestions abound, and Chancellor Hammond is not as hobbled as he might have been since higher-than-expected tax receipts have made it a little easier for him to meet the Prime Minister’s promise of extra NHS spending, which is his biggest headache. Here’s my own round-up of recommendations, starting with the smaller businesses that are the lifeblood of any economy in difficult times.