Newspage sought the views of small business owners and financial experts about the upcoming Budget today.They shared their last words on video for the Chancellor before she heads to Parliament.One pleaded with Chancellor Rachel Reeves to "please, please think this through for small businesses" while another urged her to give tax relief to companies investing in AI.

Small businesses in plea to Chancellor ahead of Budget: "Please, please think this through"

Chancellor, AI productivity gains won't show up in GDP if businesses are rushing to implement systems riddled with AI slop and mistakes. Businesses need breathing space and strong incentives to implement AI properly, not pressure to automate faster and wrong. MIT says 95% of AI projects fail after their test project ends. Let's not add to that statistic. The wider workforce needs hands-on opportunities to learn. Give greater tax relief for boosting human-AI collaboration, so employers augment staff rather than replace them.

Colette Mason focuses on the AI that neither the doomers nor boosters talk about. She had her first tech job at 14, then supported mission-critical IT systems for investment banks, the Metropolitan Police, London Underground, and UK government agencies. Systems where failure had consequences. That background shapes how she thinks about AI now. Not as a product to sell, but as a tool under scrutiny, in a public conversation too often dominated by people who've never built anything. She understands the tech, the commercial incentives, and the human and environmental cost when all three collide. Colette runs her Clever Clogs AI consultancy, covering AI industry news through her writing and toolkits. Her focus: what's actually happening vs what's being sold, hyped, and battled with, plus who pays the price when those three converge. Author of Ditch Rework Build Teamwork: 10 AI Principles to Fix the Friction and Build a Trusted AI Assistant Available for commentary on: AI hype vs delivery · who benefits when AI governance fails · why enterprise discipline matters in the AI era · the human cost of badly designed AI systems · ethics that go beyond compliance theatre

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Colette Mason

The Mortgage Stop was founded with a simple goal in mind: to provide mortgage and protection advice tailored to the unique needs of our clients. We're family-owned and operated, with over 20 years of experience in the industry, and we work hard to remove the stress from the financial side of our clients' purchases. 

Rohit Kohli

An independent firm of Chartered Accountants in Oxford, specialising in R&D tax credits. Tax planning advice, personal and business tax accountants in Oxford.

Small businesses in plea to Chancellor ahead of Budget: "Please, please think this through"

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Colette Mason

AI Ethics Consultant at Clever Clogs AI

Rohit Kohli

Director at The Mortgage Stop

Simon Thomas

Managing Director and Chartered Accountant at Ridgefield Consulting

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