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The Economy - Your Experience

ended 11. September 2022

Tomorrow morning at 07:00, we're getting the latest economic snapshot (GDP data) of the UK from the Office for National Statistics. Please answer any or all of the following questions for the chance to see your views in the local, national and trade media tomorrow. 

  • What's your major concern about the economy right now, e.g. soaring inflation, rising interest rates, rising raw material or supplier costs, reduced consumer demand?
  • How is your business or charity faring in the current tough economic climate?
  • As we enter the winter, how confident are you feeling about the economy in general and your business or charity in particular?
  • Do you fear you may go out of business, lay off staff or be forced to close?
  • Do you think the current economic crisis could be worse for small businesses and charities than the pandemic?
  • Are the Bank of England and/or Government doing enough to support small businesses and charities? If not, what could/should they be doing?

Any other thoughts, jot them down. Please keep your response to two paragraphs max. 

4 responses from the Newspage community

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Lesley So
Founder at So Good Kombucha
As a social enterprise handcrafting premium fermented drinks, our bills have more than doubled over the past three months and the price of raw materials like our glass bottles has increased by 50% over the past year. We can't afford to raise our prices as we compete against mass-produced drinks that are a lot cheaper to make and so we have no choice but to continue to take massive hits on our margins. I'm afraid that this will get worse through the winter as demand for cold drinks drop and our bills continue to soar. This is going to significantly impact our ability to fulfil the whole point of the business, which was to create jobs for refugees and others who are marginalised in our communities. If this continues, many small businesses around the country like ours will really struggle to survive. To us, it doesn't feel like the economy is growing.
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Rob Peters
Principal at Simple Fast Mortgage
The rising cost of living and stagnant wages are two of the biggest challenges at present. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to calculate that if costs go up, but wages don't, then more people will face poverty. This will become more apparent in the coming winter months when energy usage is at it highest. Even with the new energy price guarantee, many will still face vastly increased costs that they cannot afford. Charities and food banks should expect increased demand for their services this winter as people look for ways to feed and clothe themselves and their families. For businesses, I expect to see a large retreat from the high-street as small businesses look for ways to reduce overheads and a physical shop is a costly overhead. The number of business failing due to the cost of materials will also increase. But it's not all doom and gloom. Many will innovate and produce creative and successful alternative businesses.
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Tony Restell
Founder and Director at Social-Hire.com
While the current economic climate is a big concern for many small business owners, there is one opportunity that many could go after. The weakness of the pound against the dollar is making winning more US business a real possibility. Our agency is securing more and more client wins in the US to counter possible contraction of the UK market. US businesses love how cost competitive this makes British businesses - and we get to reduce our exposure to the UK economy.
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Graham Cox
Director at Bridging Hub
My biggest concern regarding the economy right now is the possibility of a run on the pound. Some analysts are predicting sterling could soon reach parity with the US dollar. With oil and gas imports priced in the greenback, that would be highly inflationary in the short term and a disaster for the economy. There's no denying business confidence is at rock bottom right now. But often things aren't as bad as they first seem, and I suspect inflation will start falling just as quickly as it's risen.