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Posted: Tue 23rd Jun 2026
6 min read
Keir Starmer has resigned as Prime Minister. He will stay on as caretaker while Labour chooses a new leader, and a successor could be in place within weeks.
For small business owners, the question will be whether the plan small businesses were promised stays on course through the change, and things don’t start to move in a different direction.
With the leading contender, Andy Burnham MP, linked to policies like a 20% cut in business rates for pubs and music venues, questions around his support for the increases to National Insurance introduced by Rachel Reeves in the 2024 Autumn Budget, small firms are asking if the change in leadership could lead to a new set of policy decisions.
Enterprise Nation member, Kerry Madgwick, notes:
"I don't think much will change! However, if I could ask the next Prime Minister to fix just one thing, it would be to stop being so anti-small and medium-sized businesses."
Last summer, the government published Backing your business, its plan for small and medium-sized firms and a first of its kind in over a decade.
Its stated aim is “to make the UK the best place to start and grow a business”. That is the government's own wording, and we intend to hold them to it.
This is not a wish list, and much of it is already in motion, which is exactly why a change of leadership should not slow it down.
Late payments: One of the biggest frustrations our members have raised for years, real change is finally coming. The Commercial Payments Bill is now going through Parliament, with a 60-day cap on payment terms, mandatory interest on late payments, and stronger enforcement powers for the Small Business Commissioner.
The high street: In April this year, the government delivered permanently lower business rates for retail, hospitality and leisure premises under £500,000, replacing the temporary relief that had to be renewed every year.
It is also banning upward only rent reviews in new commercial leases.
Public contracts: The government has made small firms a national priority, with departments set higher targets for spending with SMEs. That sits right alongside the work we do to help founders become supply ready.
Technology: The government has backed all 10 recommendations of the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce, with national schemes now rolling out to help firms adopt the tools that save them time and money.
We are not watching this from the sidelines.
We sit on the government's Small Business Regulatory Taskforce, working to strip out the rules that cost small firms time they do not have.
We hold a seat on the Small Business Growth Forum, where founders' views go straight to the small business minister.
And we sit in the group now taking the Digital Adoption Taskforce's work into delivery, drawing on what thousands of you tell us through Tech Hub.
We have also joined the government's AI Skills Boost programme as a strategic partner, bringing free, practical AI training to small businesses across our community.
The work is underway, and much of it carries our members' fingerprints.
Our ambition for small businesses does not stop here. There is more we want to see, and we look forward to working with the next government on:
Getting the late payment Bill onto the statute book
Ensuring digital and tax support reaches the very smallest firms, not only those who bank or build with one provider
Bringing down energy costs
Backing the next generation of founders coming up
Daniel Woolf, head of policy at Enterprise Nation, said:
"A change of prime minister does not change what small businesses need. They need a strong plan, a government that holds the course and delivers it while cheerleading from the front.
“From the late payment Bill now before Parliament to lower business rates on the high street, the direction is set, and Enterprise Nation members helped shape it from the inside. We will work with whoever leads next to make this the best country in the world to start and grow a business."
In theory, nothing in the plan needs to change because the leader does. Our job is to ensure the next government holds the course and gets on with delivery.
Enterprise Nation adviser, Jill Poet, has this piece of advice for the next PM:
"Stop talking about SMEs and really get to grips with what it means to be a small business, especially a solo or micro, and start to support and fully appreciate those tiny businesses with 0 to 9 employees that account for 95% of private businesses in the UK."
As the picture becomes clearer, we'll keep you posted, and we'll keep making your case where it counts.
We give small businesses a voice – in the media and in Westminster. See our latest press releases, policy insights and how we're championing small firms. Visit the media and policy centre
