Stuart Machin, CEO of Marks & Spencer, criticizes recent British government policies in his opinion piece and outlines six ways for Chancellor John Healey to stimulate economic growth ahead of his upcoming Budget announcement. Machin argues that removing unnecessary regulations and returning money to businesses and consumers could boost the economy without breaking fiscal rules. Among his suggestions are scrapping an upcoming Deposit Return Scheme, revising employment rights laws to preserve weekend job opportunities, and securing a food and drink trade agreement with the EU.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-10,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.45, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
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Leaning score withheld for article 69929: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-10-10
I've never hidden what I thought of the last two Budgets.
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I → hide → Budgets
Britain needed a plan for growth and got a pile of new taxes and regulations instead.
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Britain → need → taxes
At M&S we were left facing £150million of new costs each year, on top of a tax bill of around half a billion pounds.
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we → leave → pounds
Attention is now turning to the next Budget, the first by Chancellor John Healey.
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Attention → turn → Healey
I have written to him directly to set out what needs to change, and why it can't wait.
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it → write → him
Last month the Prime Minister promised Britain 'hope again'.
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Minister → promise → Britain
It struck a chord, and you can see why.
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you → strike → chord
People want to believe things can get better.
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things → want → ?
But the speech left big questions unanswered, above all what it means for business and the economy in the coming year.
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it → leave → year
I was glad to hear the Chancellor reference growth 16 times in his conference speech.
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Chancellor → hear → speech
He said it's 'the only long-term answer'.
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it → say → ?
Now the Budget must match his words.
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Budget → match → words
Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin says the Chancellor 'could get Britain growing by taking the handcuffs off business and putting money back in people's pockets'
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Britain → say → pockets
Stuart Machin has written to the Chancellor directly
Retail has a big part to play.
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Retail → write → part
It's the engine of the everyday economy, employing more than three million people and keeping customers supplied with what they need.
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they → employ → what
When the Government piles on costs, there is very little room to soak them up.
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Government → pile → them
At M&S, we’re investing over £2billion in the next three years across our stores, supply chain and technology.
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we → invest → stores
But every pound that goes on new taxes is a pound we can't invest.
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we → go → taxes
I know money is tight.
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money → know → ?
I'm not asking the Chancellor to rip up his fiscal rules.
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I → ask → rules
But at the very least, he should start unravelling the mistakes of the last two Budgets.
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he → start → Budgets
So here are six ways John Healey could get Britain growing by taking the handcuffs off business and putting money back in people's pockets.
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Britain → get → pockets
The first three wouldn't even cost the Treasury a penny.
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three → cost → penny
First, scrap the upcoming Deposit Return Scheme – it's patently ridiculous.
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it → scrap → Scheme
Next October, you'll pay 20p more for every bottle or can of drink.
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you → pay → drink
To get it back, you'll have to lug bags of empties back to the shops – despite already paying your council for collections.
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you → get → collections
And stores need to rip out shelves to make space for monstrous recycling machines.
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stores → need → machines
Retailers are spending tens of millions just to set it up, and will pay millions more every single year to run the scheme.
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Retailers → spend → scheme
Second, make sure the Employment Rights Act doesn't ban the Saturday job by treating normal weekend shifts as 'low hours' contracts.
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Act → make → contracts
The Chancellor spoke recently about his first job, washing pots in a pub.
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Chancellor → speak → pub
Mine was pushing trolleys at 16.
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Mine → push → 16
With nearly a million young people out of work or training, don't let the small print pull up the ladder.
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print → let → ladder
Stuart Machin with then-chancellor Rachel Reeves and long-serving M&S employee Allison Burnley, centre
Third, get a food and drink deal with the EU over the line.
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Machin → serve → line
Cut the red tape with our nearest neighbours, so the European food we love costs less to bring in, and our brilliant British farmers can sell more abroad.
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farmers → cut → more
Every month it's delayed, farmers and shoppers pay the price.
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farmers → delay → price
Fourth, undo the most damaging part of the disastrous rise in National Insurance: the cut to the threshold where employers start paying.
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employers → undo → threshold
It hit shops hard, because so many of our jobs are entry-level and part-time, often just a shift or two a week.
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many → hit → jobs
It also hit our suppliers, particularly in farming and food manufacturing, and strict regulations meant most of those costs ended up with retailers.
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most → hit → retailers
These pressures were always going to be felt at the till.
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pressures → go → till
Retail makes up around 5 per cent of the economy but pays over a fifth of all business rates.
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Retail → make → rates
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
