About this episode
The episode discusses the challenging policy landscape of 2025 and its impact on business confidence and government support.
The policy landscape of 2025 presented a demanding set ofconditions for businesses, with economic and political developments creating persistent uncertainty. For many businesses, much of the year was spent absorbing and planning for the measures announced in last year’s Budget. As these policies began to take effect, director confidence fell to its lowest point on record. In this episode, host Ben Walker is joined by Hugo Legh (IoD Head of Media, Campaigns and Public Affairs) and Anna Leach (IoD Chief Economist) to unpack the defining policy developments of 2025 and their impact on business. Together, they explore why director confidence remained subdued throughout the year, how business leaders are reacting in the wake of the 2025 Autumn Budget, and what support they want to see from government in 2026. They also look ahead to the IoD’s policy priorities for the coming year.
People in this episode
Host: Ben Walker
Guests: Hugo Legh, Anna Leach
Topics covered
- policy developments
- business confidence
- economic uncertainty
- government support
- 2026 priorities
Keywords
- policy landscape
- business confidence
- economic developments
- 2025 Budget
- director confidence
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Institute of Directors
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