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Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, was doing the morning interview round for No 10 today.
Asked if the government was “on a warpath” with business, Zahawi told Sky News he did not agree. He went on:
What I would say to everybody is look, let’s work together.
We have seen retailers who invested in technology and have done really well. Others like Topshop and Topman didn’t make that investment and haven’t done so well.
I don’t think it’s particularly helpful at the moment. I mean business is dealing with so much and so many different crises which has all compounded at once. So, pointing the finger and choosing us as the bogeymen for issues such as HGV driver shortages – which is multifaceted and systemic – is simply not helpful …
I think at the moment, all of these cost pressures are coming just at a time where they’ll [the government] be withdrawing the £20 universal credit allowance, which some of our customers really rely on. So, yes, I think it’s kind of a double-ended problem, and it’s inevitable that we will see price rises.
