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Financial experts and business owners share New Year's Resolution the Government or Bank of England should follow in 2026: "More backbone is needed"

ended 31. December 2025

FINANCIAL experts and business owners share New Year's Resolution the government or Bank of England should follow in 2026.

The Bank of England's (BoE) base rate is currently at 3.75% and inflation is currently at 3.2% in November 2025, still above the target of 2%.

Labour raised National Insurance (NI) payments for businesses in 2025 and chose to increase welfare spending.

Newspage spoke to financial experts and small business owners and asked what they thought the New Year's Resolution the government or the BoE should have in 2026.

Tony Redondo, Founder at Newquay-based Cosmos Currency Exchange, said the government needs to cut taxes and cut back on the welfare state.

He added: "The government should dramatically cut spending and taxes, leaving capital with entrepreneurs who drive genuine wealth creation through innovation and competition. Benefits must be reformed so work always pays more than welfare, ending dependency traps that destroy the work ethic. 

"A true meritocracy rewards effort and ability, encouraging productive contribution. This matters because prosperity requires sound money, minimal intervention, and proper incentives. Government spending diverts resources from wealth-creating private activity. 

“The welfare state, though well-intentioned, undermines personal responsibility and entrepreneurship, the real engines of progress. Long-term benefits include sustainable growth, innovation, and a dynamic economy rewarding merit over political connections. Entrepreneurs must operate unencumbered, and individuals must face real incentives to work and create value rather than depend on state support.”

Sarah Gatford, Head of Interactions at Derby-based Sarah Gatford Ltd, said the government needs to start focusing on mental health in 2026.

She continued: "My New Year's Resolution for the government: measure people, not just pounds. Start tracking how people are actually doing, energy levels, connection, purpose, alongside GDP and inflation. This isn't soft. It's basic economics. 

“When millions are functioning but exhausted, they're neither productive nor spending. They're surviving. Exhausted, disconnected people don't drive growth. They cost money. The government talks about growth. But growth built on exhausted people is a house of cards. Stop measuring only what's easy to count. Start measuring what matters.”

Kate Underwood, Founder at Southampton-based Kate Underwood HR and Training, said Labour needs to focus on helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

She added: "If ‘supporting SMEs' was a performance review, government would be on a PIP: big promises, missed deadlines, zero delivery. In 2025 you didn’t support small businesses. You stressed them. Policy whiplash, vague headlines, last-minute changes, and costs creeping up while you told owners to be ‘resilient’. 

"Meanwhile they’re doing HR, payroll and cashflow at 10pm, trying to keep people paid and stay on the right side of employment law. So for 2026, here’s the resolution: stop being the chaos. Follow through. If you announce help, make it land and make it simple. 

“Lock the rules early, give proper lead-in time, and tackle late payments with consequences, not speeches. Stability is support. Everything else is PR in a suit. Because uncertainty is a tax. It freezes hiring, kills pay rises, and pushes decent employers into survival mode.”

David Belle, Founder and Trader at Fink Money, believes scrapping environmental policies would help in 2026.

He continued: "Forget anything to do with green. I have no idea why it was ever brought into central bank verbiage. Their core focus should be on how best to satisfy the requirement for super low borrowing to enable infrastructure buildout at this stage and to forget anything else. 

“We need an American attitude to policy, where Donald Trump has been almost forcing rates lower while achieving unbelievable growth rates. This does require not having a stupid government in power too, however.”

Patricia McGirr, Founder at Burnley-based Repossession Rescue Network, said businesses need to be properly backed with hard cash.

She added: "The government and Bank of England’s New Year’s resolutions for 2026 should be written on a Post-it and stuck to the Treasury wall. Stop calling paralysis ‘prudence’. Keeping rates and policy in a holding pattern does not calm markets, it leaves businesses and households stuck waiting for permission to move. 

"Back British businesses in cash, not compliments. Being labelled the backbone of the economy is meaningless when lending tightens, taxes rise and support quietly disappears. Pick a direction on borrowing and stick to it. Nobody expects miracles, but constant ambiguity makes planning impossible and turns caution into stagnation. 

“Acknowledge that people are not spreadsheets. Economic pressure shows up in stress, burnout and broken confidence long before it appears in official data. Measure confidence properly. If businesses are not hiring and households are not moving, there is no confidence, whatever the rhetoric says.”

David Stirling, Independent Financial Adviser at Belfast-based Mint Wealth Ltd, said Labour should go after companies who are avoiding tax.

He continued: "The Chancellor should let SMEs out of the chokehold she has had them in for the last few years and start to wrestle with the big corporations that avoid paying taxes in this country. 

“SMEs are the life blood of the country and the owners take all the risks to provide incomes and tax revenues to keep the country afloat. For too long now they have taken the brunt of policy decisions and are being taxed to death.”

Harry Goodliffe, Director at HTG Mortgages, said “more backbone” is needed in 2026.

He added: "New Year’s resolution for the government and the BoE in 2026 is a bit more backbone. 2025 felt like a year of half-signals and crossed fingers, which just left buyers, lenders and businesses second guessing everything. 

“The BoE doesn’t need to be perfect on rates, just clearer, and the government needs to stop flirting with housing policy and actually commit to something. Certainty beats constant ‘wait and see’ every single time.”

8 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Tony RedondoVerified
Founder at Cosmos Currency Exchange
The Government should dramatically cut spending and taxes, leaving capital with entrepreneurs who drive genuine wealth creation through innovation and competition. Benefits must be reformed so work always pays more than welfare, ending dependency traps that destroy the work ethic. A true meritocracy rewards effort and ability, encouraging productive contribution. This matters because prosperity requires sound money, minimal intervention, and proper incentives. Government spending diverts resources from wealth-creating private activity. The welfare state, though well-intentioned, undermines personal responsibility and entrepreneurship, the real engines of progress. Long-term benefits include sustainable growth, innovation, and a dynamic economy rewarding merit over political connections. Entrepreneurs must operate unencumbered, and individuals must face real incentives to work and create value rather than depend on state support.
Copy

Editor
Sarah GatfordVerified
The Positivity Pathfinder - Head of Interactions at Sarah Gatford Ltd
My New Year's Resolution for the Government: Measure people, not just pounds.
Start tracking how people are actually doing, energy levels, connection, purpose, alongside GDP and inflation.
This isn't soft. It's basic economics.
When millions are functioning but exhausted, they're neither productive nor spending. They're surviving. Exhausted, disconnected people don't drive growth. They cost money.
The government talks about growth. But growth built on exhausted people is a house of cards.
Stop measuring only what's easy to count. Start measuring what matters.
Copy

Editor
Kate UnderwoodVerified
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR and Training
If ‘supporting SMEs’ was a performance review, Government would be on a PIP: big promises, missed deadlines, zero delivery. In 2025 you didn’t support small businesses. You stressed them. Policy whiplash, vague headlines, last-minute changes, and costs creeping up while you told owners to be “resilient”. Meanwhile they’re doing HR, payroll and cashflow at 10pm, trying to keep people paid and stay on the right side of employment law. So for 2026, here’s the resolution: stop being the chaos. Follow through. If you announce help, make it land and make it simple. Lock the rules early, give proper lead-in time, and tackle late payments with consequences, not speeches. Stability is support. Everything else is PR in a suit. Because uncertainty is a tax. It freezes hiring, kills pay rises, and pushes decent employers into survival mode.
Copy

Editor
David StirlingVerified
Independent Financial Adviser at Mint Wealth
The Chancellor should let SMEs out of the chokehold she has had them in for the last few years and start to wrestle with the big corporations that avoid paying taxes in this country. SMEs are the life blood of the country and the owners take all the risks to provide incomes and tax revenues to keep the country afloat. For too long now they have taken the brunt of policy decisions and are being taxed to death.
Copy

Editor
Harry GoodliffeVerified
Director at HTG Mortgages
New Year’s resolution for the Government and the BOE in 2026 is a bit more backbone. 2025 felt like a year of half-signals and crossed fingers, which just left buyers, lenders and businesses second guessing everything. The BOE doesn’t need to be perfect on rates, just clearer, and the Government needs to stop flirting with housing policy and actually commit to something. Certainty beats constant “wait and see” every single time.
Copy

Premium
David BelleVerified
Founder and Trader at Fink Money
Forget anything to do with Green.

I have no idea why it was ever brought into central bank verbiage.

Their core focus should be on how best to satisfy the requirement for super low borrowing to enable infrastructure buildout at this stage and to forget anything else.

We need an American attitude to policy, where Trump has been almost forcing rates lower while achieving unbelievable growth rates.

This does require not having a stupid government in power too, however.
Copy

Patricia McGirrVerified
Founder at Repossession Rescue Network
The Government and Bank of England’s New Year’s resolutions for 2026 should be written on a Post-it and stuck to the Treasury wall.

Stop calling paralysis ‘prudence’.
Keeping rates and policy in a holding pattern does not calm markets, it leaves businesses and households stuck waiting for permission to move.

Back British businesses in cash, not compliments.
Being labelled the backbone of the economy is meaningless when lending tightens, taxes rise and support quietly disappears.

Pick a direction on borrowing and stick to it.
Nobody expects miracles, but constant ambiguity makes planning impossible and turns caution into stagnation.

Acknowledge that people are not spreadsheets.
Economic pressure shows up in stress, burnout and broken confidence long before it appears in official data.

Measure confidence properly.
If businesses are not hiring and households are not moving, there is no confidence, whatever the rhetoric says.
Copy

Colette MasonVerified
AI Ethics Consultant at Clever Clogs AI
The government's resolution should be simple: acknowledge that SMEs don't need another tax cut that gets swallowed by rising costs.

Policy stability and less "fiscal fandango" would help. But even with stable policy, running a small business in 2026 means processing more information, more regulations, more variables than any human was designed to handle alone. The businesses that thrive won't be the ones waiting for government help. They'll be the ones who've built operational systems that work on their worst days, not just their best ones.
Because uncertainty isn't just a tax. It's a cognitive burden. And right now, most business owners are carrying that burden manually while being told to "be resilient." Businesses will need to monitor their performance and look for the marginal gains, because there are no big wins on the cards for SMEs right now.