You need to for help help us to grow so we can employ more people'

Worried traders’ message to government after Budget

- STEPHEN TOPPING

AS the dust settles on Labour's first Budget in more than 14 years, Greater Manchester businesses are getting to grips with what it all means.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves reiterated her party's promise not to raise the VAT, national insurance or income tax on 'working people' during her 77-minute speech in the Commons on October 30.

But her first Budget did include overall tax rises of £40 billion including £25.7 billion through changes to national insurance contributions paid by employers. After turbulent years in the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis, many businesses across Greater Manchester are looking ahead with caution.

At Salford Shopping Centre, national chains stand alongside small independent shops and salons, but multiple empty units symbolise the challenge precincts have faced in recent years. As the Manchester Evening News spoke to Nick Puri, manager at the Redd clothes store, there were no customers inside the shop.

"This is normal - it's not very busy," he said. "It's up and down, one day to the next. It's a struggle, a challenging time. People are looking for cheap prices, good prices, sales." Many shoppers have been forced to tighten their belts in the last few years, forcing them to change their habits. It's a situation which played a large part in voters switching to Labour in the general election earlier this year, and a key challenge for the government to fix over the next few years.

La Bella Aesthetic, Hair and Beauty has been open at Salford Shopping Centre for three weeks.

Owner Wendy Ehis says trade has been quiet so far - and she is concerned the Budget's measures could tip the balance away from her favour.