{"id":275425,"date":"2026-01-31T10:26:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T10:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/?p=275425"},"modified":"2026-01-31T10:33:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T10:33:25","slug":"business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/","title":{"rendered":"Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"\"><\/div>\n<p><!-- Ads Injected --><\/p>\n<p>Business confidence fell again at the start of the year, according to a tracker frequently cited by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, dealing a blow to the government in its hopes of boosting the UK economy before difficult elections in May.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/imf-uk-economy-to-grow-slower-than-advanced-economies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Starmer<\/a> and Reeves have frequently pointed to the Lloyds Bank business barometer when speaking about bosses\u2019 confidence in growth plans, with recent examples showing higher confidence levels than other surveys.<\/p>\n<p>But the most recent set of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/why-business-confidence-is-all-over-the-place\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">data provided by Lloyds Bank<\/a> showed business confidence dropping across the two main indicators.<\/p>\n<p>The score for confidence in people\u2019s own firms fell by three points to 44 per cent in January, the survey showed.<\/p>\n<p>Respondents were also less optimistic about the wider UK economy, with sentiment falling by nine points to a reading of 53 per cent.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-auto-inject\" style=\"margin: 20px auto;\">\n<div id=\"mc_embed_shell\">\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><![CDATA[ #mc_embed_signup { background: #fff; clear: left; font: 14px Helvetica, Arial,sans-serif; width: 100%; max-width: 600px; margin: 20px 0; } #mc-embedded-subscribe-form { margin: 20px 0 !important; } .newsletter-form-flex { display: flex; gap: 0; align-items: center; margin-top: -10px; } .newsletter-form-flex input[type=\"email\"] { flex: 1; padding: 2px 10px; border: 1px solid rgb(18, 22, 23) !important; border-radius: 12px 0 0 12px !important; } .newsletter-form-flex input[type=\"submit\"] { padding: 4px 10px !important; margin: 0 !important; background-color: rgb(18, 22, 23) !important; color: rgb(255, 255, 255) !important; border: 1px solid rgb(18, 22, 23) !important; border-radius: 0 12px 12px 0 !important; } .newsletter-banner-content { margin-bottom: 15px; } .newsletter-banner-content h2 { margin: 0 0 10px 0; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 600; } .newsletter-banner-content p { margin: 0 0 10px 0; line-height: 1.5; } .newsletter-banner-content ul, .newsletter-banner-content ol { margin: 0 0 10px 20px; } .newsletter-banner-content a { color: #0073aa; text-decoration: none; } .newsletter-banner-content a:hover { text-decoration: underline; } .newsletter-banner-content img { max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin: 10px 0; } #mc_embed_signup #mce-success-response { color: #0356a5; display: none; margin: 0 0 10px; width: 100%; } #mc_embed_signup div#mce-responses { float: left; top: -1.4em; padding: 0; overflow: hidden; width: 100%; margin: 0; clear: both; } ]]><\/style>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The survey, which took views from some 1,200 large companies, did show hiring expectations rising.<\/p>\n<p>The net balance for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/financial-services-on-hiring-spree-for-ai-experts-in-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hiring<\/a> rose for the first time in three months as more than half of firms said they planned to increase headcount.<\/p>\n<p>One fifth of companies expected salaries to grow by more than four per cent this year, researchers also said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirms are reporting confidence in their trading prospects at the start of the year, despite a slight softening of wider economic optimism.,\u201d Hann-Ju Ho, senior economist at Lloyds Bank, said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"read-more read-more--has-media read-more-auto\">\n<div class=\"read-more__content\">\n<h5 class=\"read-more__label\">Read more<\/h5>\n<h4 class=\"read-more__title\"><a class=\"read-more__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/consumer-confidence-edges-up-as-new-year-brings-resilience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Consumer confidence has been negative for 10 years<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThis points to businesses\u2019 ability to manage external risks and a focus on growth opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe first rise in confidence in the services sector in seven months is encouraging given the sector\u2019s central role in supporting UK economic activity.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-business-openings-inch-up\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Business openings inch up<\/h2>\n<p>New data deals a blow to the government with months to go until crucial local elections in May that will take the temperature on voters\u2019 support for Labour.<\/p>\n<p>The party is trailing behind both Reform and the Tories in national polling, with the government\u2019s central growth mission set to fall flat as forecasts for this year suggest the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/uk-growth-spurt-due-to-payback-for-earlier-weaknesses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">UK economy<\/a> will expand at a slower pace than in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Data released by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/businessindustryandtrade\/business\/activitysizeandlocation\/bulletins\/businessdemographyquarterlyexperimentalstatisticsuk\/octobertodecember2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Office for National Statistics (ONS)<\/a> on Thursday pointed to more positive trends across businesses up and down the country.<\/p>\n<p>The number of firms added to a business register was 71,935 between October and December 2025, an increase of 10 per cent compared to the same quarter a year before.<\/p>\n<p>There was also a smaller decrease in the number of business closures, according to researchers.<\/p>\n<p>Transport and communication industries were highlighted as the areas with the biggest gains in business openings.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"read-more read-more--has-media read-more-auto\">\n<div class=\"read-more__content\">\n<h5 class=\"read-more__label\">Read more<\/h5>\n<h4 class=\"read-more__title\"><a class=\"read-more__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/business-confidence-lowest-in-nearly-five-years-bdo-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Business confidence lowest in nearly five years, BDO says<\/a><\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<footer class=\"article-footer \">\n<div class=\"tags-collection article-footer__tags-collection\"><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/\">Source link <\/a><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/contact-us\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-14\" src=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/footer-300x100.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/footer-300x100.png 300w, https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/footer-150x50.png 150w, https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/footer.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/1\/embed?mid=1w4tN9mf5kVdBXUXTq2KvwE23NmpUzEna\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><center><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 0px #ffffff none;\" src=\"https:\/\/calendar.google.com\/calendar\/embed?src=sc635csnrm8h9s9lq0cad6vkss@group.calendar.google.com\" name=\"myiFrame\" width=\"600px\" height=\"3px\" frameborder=\"1\" marginwidth=\"0px\" marginheight=\"0px\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/center>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.dominiclevent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Business_Solicitors_London.jpg\" width=\"600\" \/><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div>Dominic Levent Solicitors<\/div>\n<div>Email: Enquiries@dominiclevent.com<\/div>\n<div>Phone: 020 8347 6640<\/div>\n<div>Url: https:\/\/www.dominiclevent.com<\/div>\n<div style=\"display: none;\">cash, check, credit card, invoice<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div>1345 High Rd<\/div>\n<div>London, London N20 9HR<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Business confidence fell again at the start of the year, according to a tracker frequently cited by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, dealing a blow to the government in its hopes of boosting the UK economy before difficult elections in May. Starmer and Reeves have frequently pointed to the Lloyds Bank business barometer when speaking &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0&#8220;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":275498,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275425","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news1","entry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0 - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0 - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Business confidence fell again at the start of the year, according to a tracker frequently cited by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, dealing a blow to the government in its hopes of boosting the UK economy before difficult elections in May. Starmer and Reeves have frequently pointed to the Lloyds Bank business barometer when speaking &hellip; Continue reading &quot;Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0&quot;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-31T10:26:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-31T10:33:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/meeting-594091_1280.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"spainops\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"spainops\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/\",\"name\":\"Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0 - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/meeting-594091_1280.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-31T10:26:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-31T10:33:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bacc79b48921539cd8fc642f86d23254\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/meeting-594091_1280.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/meeting-594091_1280.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bacc79b48921539cd8fc642f86d23254\",\"name\":\"spainops\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6a2648c0ace71d8dde31f2a9e8b370b694f81d70a3ed9ccfb9ec45550a223943?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6a2648c0ace71d8dde31f2a9e8b370b694f81d70a3ed9ccfb9ec45550a223943?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"spainops\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/author\/spainops\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0 - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0 - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog","og_description":"Business confidence fell again at the start of the year, according to a tracker frequently cited by Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves, dealing a blow to the government in its hopes of boosting the UK economy before difficult elections in May. Starmer and Reeves have frequently pointed to the Lloyds Bank business barometer when speaking &hellip; Continue reading \"Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0\"","og_url":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/","og_site_name":"Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog","article_published_time":"2026-01-31T10:26:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-31T10:33:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":853,"url":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/meeting-594091_1280.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"spainops","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"spainops","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/","url":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/","name":"Business confidence drops in blow to Labour\u00a0 - Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/meeting-594091_1280.jpg","datePublished":"2026-01-31T10:26:06+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-31T10:33:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bacc79b48921539cd8fc642f86d23254"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/business-confidence-drops-in-blow-to-labour\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/meeting-594091_1280.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/meeting-594091_1280.jpg","width":1280,"height":853},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/","name":"Dominic Levent Solicitors Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/bacc79b48921539cd8fc642f86d23254","name":"spainops","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6a2648c0ace71d8dde31f2a9e8b370b694f81d70a3ed9ccfb9ec45550a223943?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/6a2648c0ace71d8dde31f2a9e8b370b694f81d70a3ed9ccfb9ec45550a223943?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"spainops"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/author\/spainops\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275425"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275425\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":275499,"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275425\/revisions\/275499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dominiclevent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}