Post Budget Business Breakfast with Tom Gordon MP

Tom Gordon MP will be at The Old Swan Hotel on Friday 30 October for a post-Budget business breakfast, starting at 8.30am. It's a briefing for local business owners, coming just after the Chancellor's Autumn Budget, and Gordon is the main feature on the morning.

The timing is the whole point. The Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce has been vocal about the Budget, calling it 'disappointing' in several respects, and this is a chance to hear Gordon's take on it. Chief executive Martin Mann said many members were disappointed there was no relief from the recent increases in employer National Insurance, and he pointed out that the 3.9% rise in the national minimum wage will add to the cost of employing people — something that hits small firms with tight margins particularly hard. With growth forecast at just 1% next year, the Chamber has warned that confidence will stay fragile.

It wasn't all bad news, though. Mann welcomed the higher Small Business Rate Relief threshold for retail, hospitality and leisure firms, the extra support for new founders, and the continued relief for investment in equipment. On the other hand, he noted that Business Asset Disposal Relief halves to £500,000. If you've been following the fallout from the Budget, those are the specific lines that will likely come up over breakfast.

So, if you run a business in Harrogate and want to hear how these changes land from the town's own MP, this is the room to be in. It's at The Old Swan Hotel on Friday 30 October, starting at 8.30am, and you can book your place via Eventbrite.