89% of UK adults want Budget to prioritise cost of living, BRC poll shows
Polling by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has found that cost of living pressures, youth unemployment and Britain’s productivity challenge are the public’s top priorities for this autumn’s Budget.
According to Opinium polling commissioned by the trade body, almost nine in ten (89%) UK adults want the government to make cutting the cost of living a Budget priority,
Subscribe to TRBThe survey also found more than four in five (83%) want action on youth unemployment, while more than three quarters (77%) said improving high streets should be an important part of the Budget.
The BRC said the public, the government and retailers share the same priorities, which do not compete with one another. For retail, it said, keeping prices down, creating opportunities for young people, boosting productivity and strengthening high streets are closely linked, and the right Budget decisions could deliver progress on all of them.
It added that giving retailers more room to invest would mean more jobs and training, better stores, more viable high streets and more competitive prices for customers.
However, rising employment costs and business taxes are limiting that capacity, according to the BRC. The industry will pay £41 billion in business taxes in 2026/27, a 20% rise in two years, while the sector has lost 122,000 jobs over the same period and one in seven high street properties is now empty.
The BRC said the Budget is a chance for the government to turn shared priorities into action. It said giving retailers more room to invest would create opportunities for young people, with nearly one million 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training. It would also boost productivity, strengthen high streets and ease pressure on household budgets.
Ahead of the Budget, the BRC is calling on the Chancellor to raise the employer National Insurance threshold from £5,000 to £6,000, freeze the CPI-linked increase in business rates and remove shops from the high-value multiplier.
The BRC said these measures would deliver what the public wants from the Budget: lower household costs, more opportunities for young people and stronger high streets.
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said: “The public, retailers and Government all want the same things: lower pressure on household budgets, more opportunities for young people, thriving high streets and a more productive economy. The Budget should be a chance to deliver on those shared priorities.
“Retail supports 2.8 million direct jobs and a further 2.7 across the economy, reaching every community in the country, so when retailers invest, families and communities feel the benefit through jobs, better high streets and lower inflation. But after two Budgets that pushed up costs, jobs and prices are increasingly under pressure.
“The choice is clear: ease the burden on retail and unlock investment in the things people care about.”
