Measures announced in the Autumn Budget on 28th October must be sufficient to motivate the region’s businesses to invest to grow, East Midlands Chamber has said, despite unexpected 0.1% GDP growth in August.
The Chamber’s renewed call follows the recent publication of its Five Asks for the Budget, which it says, if announced on 28th October, would unlock growth in the East Midlands.
The latest estimated data from the Office for National Statistics follows 0.4% growth in July and 0.4% in June and generally defied predictions from economists that predicted a slight contraction for August. The data follows an upgraded economic forecast for the UK for 2026, published earlier in the week by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “A slight rise in GDP, while encouraging in terms of the general health of the economy, is not enough alone to drive business to unlock investment plans, which our research has shown to have stalled across the last year.
“When you consider the high costs associated with employment, energy prices which soared this year driven by the Middle East conflict – as did inflation – or business rates which need a full root and branch review as we are calling for, you can see why firms might put the brakes on their investment intentions, just as our Quarterly Economic Surveys have shown consecutively. Add to that cost pressure the burden of cumbersome paperwork just to secure things like training or apprenticeships, or challenges for SMEs in accessing export opportunities, hesitancy or a total stop in investment can result.
“The Chancellor has a clear opportunity on 28th October to turn the ship around, unlock the huge growth potential the East Midlands has but presenting a Budget with the conditions needed to incentivise investment for businesses. That’s why we it’s essential the Five Asks in the Budget submission we published earlier this week are prioritised.
“With less than two weeks to go until the Budget, I would urge the Chancellor to ensure business is front and centre so growth is enabled.”
View East Midlands Chamber’s Five Asks for the 2026 Autumn Budget here.
View East Midlands Chamber’s Framework for Growth here.
View East Midlands Chamber’s latest Quarterly Economic Survey for Q3 2026 here.
