The chancellor's Mais Lecture landed at a pivotal moment for the UK economy. Businesses have shown remarkable resilience in recent years and are now being tested again by the conflict in Iran and its impact on energy prices and inflation. But resilience alone is not a growth strategy.
Firms are looking to get on the front foot. That requires a step-change in how we think about the key drivers of growth. At the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), we believe there are three crucial levers government can pull: investment, productivity and trade.
In her speech, the chancellor set out her own three priorities: regional investment, AI adoption and improved EU trade – and these strongly resonate with our own themes and analysis. Each speaks to a binding constraint on growth. To take the first of these, regional investment and the mechanisms underpinning it: it could prove transformative.
The 51 Chambers covering the UK are regional and local by design. They are place-based organisations and laser-focused on supporting and growing firms in their areas. Therefore, the commitment to deeper regional investment is very welcome. For too long, businesses have navigated a system characterised by centralisation, short-term funding cycles and fragmented decision-making.
On wider reforms, we welcome the Chancellor's recognition of the need to back high-performing areas, including the Oxford-Cambridge and Northern Growth Corridors. Supporting these engines of growth is vital. But so too is ensuring that every region has the opportunity, the tools and the autonomy to contribute to the UK's economic success.
The introduction of City Investment Funds signals a decisive shift away from that model. These funds, placing long-term, self-sustaining capital in the hands of established regional leaders, have the potential to reshape local economies from the ground up. They move us beyond the inefficiencies of competitive bidding towards something more strategic and enduring. For businesses, that means greater certainty, stronger local partnerships and the ability to plan with confidence.
But we should be clear: while City Investment Funds are a significant innovation, their true impact will depend on the broader framework they sit in. That brings us to the Chancellor's commitment to fiscal devolution, arguably the most consequential element of the speech.
For the Chamber network and our wider business community, this represents a profound opportunity. The UK has long been one of the most centralised economies in the developed world, with local leaders too often constrained by limited financial autonomy. Allowing regions to retain a share of tax revenues fundamentally changes that equation.
On wider reforms, we welcome the Chancellor's recognition of the need to back high-performing areas, including the Oxford-Cambridge and Northern Growth Corridors. Supporting these engines of growth is vital. But so too is ensuring that every region has the opportunity, the tools and the autonomy to contribute to the UK's economic success.
It aligns incentives in a way businesses instinctively understand. Growth should be rewarded locally. Success should generate further investment locally. And decisions about how to unlock that growth are often best taken closest to the ground.
There are, therefore, real grounds for optimism. Optimism, however, must be matched by delivery.
From the perspective of our Chambers, it is essential that fiscal devolution is rolled out to as many regions as possible, as quickly as possible. A selective model risks entrenching disparities, creating a two-speed economy in which some areas surge ahead while others fall further behind.
This is why it has been disappointing to see the end of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) with no direct replacement. Instead, much reduced budgets have been flowing to targeted funds such as the Local Growth Fund and the City Investment Funds, which are only for Mayoral Strategic Authorities (MSAs).
Whilst recognising that the Government has chosen to make specific choices amid funding constraints, it remains the case that only 50% of England is covered by MSAs. Furthermore, from April 2026, it will be the first time this millennium that there is no longer universal business support coverage across England.
On wider reforms, we welcome the Chancellor's recognition of the need to back high-performing areas, including the Oxford-Cambridge and Northern Growth Corridors. Supporting these engines of growth is vital. But so too is ensuring that every region has the opportunity, the tools and the autonomy to contribute to the UK's economic success.
This is, ultimately, a moment of opportunity. The Mais Lecture sets out a vision that aligns closely with what businesses have long been calling for. The BCC stands ready to play its part in that partnership. But the test now is action. If delivered with pace and ambition, these reforms could mark the transformational breakthrough our regions need to realise their true potential.
The direction is right. The challenge now is to make it real.
Shevaun Haviland is Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce
