The UK economy is suffering a “harrowing” year caused by President Trump’s tariff regime and a £25 billion tax rise on employers, a survey of businesses showed on Tuesday.
Researchers at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) warned that business confidence slid to its lowest level in more than two years in the first quarter.
ICAEW’s business confidence monitor dropped from 0.2 to minus 3 in the first three months of the year, the weakest reading since the final quarter of 2022, because of fears over the UK’s heavy tax burden, accelerating costs and sluggish domestic demand.
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, announced a £25 billion rise in employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) at the October budget, which took effect on April
