Autumn Budget 2026: Fascinating event by Harrogate Chamber of Commerce offers bacon baps and fiscal advice

There was a good turnout today, Friday at The Old Swan Hotel when Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce held a Post Budget Breakfast with the town's MP to help business owners to sift through it meaning - with even the Harrogate Advertiser chipping in.

Sponsored by Libertas Professional Services and DSC Chartered Accountants, the event took place just two days after Chancellor John Healey delivered the Autumn Budget, bringing together local directors, founders and professionals over bacon sandwiches and coffee to make sense of the government's fiscal roadmap.

Organised in partnership with Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon, this fascinating briefing by Harrogate District Chamber of Commerce offered expert perspectives from across the financial sector, including insights from Denham & Burd Wealth Management.

Hosted by General Manager Dave Brixton and his team at The Old Swan Hotel, the gathering provided an open forum for honest analysis and practical debate, giving attendees a platform to voice the concerns of the Harrogate business community directly to key decision-makers - and gain some helpful tips.

Ian Howard of Libertas Professional Services opened proceedings by placing the budget within the wider macroeconomic landscape, describing it as a Budget which tinkering at the edges without being transformative of the economic situation.

Examining specific measures through a local lens, Ian noted that raising the Small Business Rate Relief threshold to £18,000 offers marginal assistance in an area like Harrogate where commercial rateable values sit at the higher end of the scale.

John Garbutt, Director at DSC Chartered Accountants, provided a granular breakdown of the commercial tax measures, summarising the overall package as an exercise in damage limitation and, again, in government tinkering.

While relieved that Corporation Tax and headline employer National Insurance contributions were left untouched, John expressed deep frustration at the lack of positive incentives designed to encourage business investment and expansion.

Tristan Burd of Denham & Burd Wealth Management assessed the budget from the perspective of private clients, shareholders and directors

Tristan reassured attendees that core wealth accumulation strategies could remain largely intact.

Crucially, the annual pension allowance of £60,000, the 25 per cent tax-free lump sum entitlement up to £268,275, and the £20,000 cash ISA limit were all preserved without reduction.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon offered his candid assessment from Westminster, agreeing that the budget proved to be a muted affair that lacked substance and failed to present a coherent, long-term economic strategy.

He criticised the Government's approach to cost-of-living relief, citing the blanket £100 council tax energy rebate as a crude, untargeted measure that benefits higher earners while failing to direct sufficient resources to households facing acute fuel poverty.

Mr Gordon voiced serious concern over the broader trajectory of public spending, pointing out real-terms reductions in school budgets and a lack of committed capital expenditure for northern infrastructure.

When asked by the Harrogate Advertiser to name a single “magic bullet” policy intervention that could truly stimulate economic growth amid the array of challenges facing the British economy, the panel offered diverse solutions.

Ian Howard championed a significant cut to the headline rate of VAT, arguing that reducing the tax burden would instantly unlock tens of billions of pounds in vital working capital for trading businesses.

Meanwhile, Tristan Burd called for legislative stability, urging policymakers to establish fixed, long-term tax roadmaps so individuals and firms can invest with confidence.

The one answer the four members of the a Post Budget Breakfast panel The Old Swan Hotel could all agreed on was simple enough - an end to government tinkering.