Mike Ashley attacks Burnham plans as'populist' Billionaire Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley has criticised recent cost of living and retail policies from Andy Burnham as populist reactions. In a letter to the prime minister, the entrepreneur accused him of jumping on'everyday fixes' or bandwagons, while disastrous business rates policies and increases to the cost of employing workers were causing businesses to struggle. He also described a previous proposal of increasing business rates on large warehouses to help reduce them for pubs and clubs as delusional. A Downing Street spokesperson said Burnham would build a new economy that backs British business, delivers growth in every postcode and ensures the essentials in life - like energy, water and housing - are affordable again. Promises including cutting VAT from household electricity bills and reducing business rates for some firms is just the start, they added.

Pubs, clubs and live music venues in England will be given a 20% cut to business rates from April, which the government estimates will save firms around £1,100 next year. In his third policy announcement since becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham called the plan a first step to help businesses, and said pubs in particular need to know that the cavalry is coming. It will cost £100m and be funded by a review of tax relief on firms such as vape shops which do not make a positive contribution to local communities, the government said. Some hospitality firms welcomed the move but others in the industry, such as hotels and restaurants, questioned why the 20% cut would not extend to them. Pubs have now had two rounds of relief - a 15% cut in April and a further 20% which will come into force next year.

The Budget will cut a planned 3.9 per cent hike in business rates and pave the way for building houses on the green belt, it was claimed today. Philip Hammond delivers his next Budget on November 22 against a backdrop of economic uncertainty over Brexit and needing to find billions to unwind earlier errors. Instead of increasing business rates by the RPI measure of inflation, the Chancellor will tell firms he will use the lower CPI. The move will save businesses hundreds of millions of pounds when the next round of rates kicks in from April. Talks between Mr Hammond and Communities Secretary Sajid Javid convened by Prime Minister Theresa May have also yielded agreement on housing plans, the Sunday Times said.