The prime minister wants to overhaul the UK economy as it emerges from a deep recession by boosting productivity, skills and wages. His task is being made all the more difficult by skyrocketing inflation, shortages of goods and fuel, and massive government budget deficits.
"This government does not seem to have shown much interest in what business thinks but instead focused almost entirely on winning and retaining Red Wall voters," says Vicky Pryce, a leading economist based in London. This worked brilliantly for Johnson in the 2019 election, when he bulldozed through the Brexit deadlock and won a number of Red Wall seats en route to a landslide victory.
Worse, Johnson's government has, some believe, laid the blame for these difficulties at the door of those small businesses, accusing them of not paying workers enough in order to attract staff or not taking advantage of new trading opportunities in the wider world. Any confidence felt in the business community earlier this year has slipped, as the pandemic refuses to end. With the recovery stalling, the UK economy is expected to regain its pre-pandemic size months later than many other developed countries.