Entrepreneurs have backed Jeremy Clarkson after the broadcaster and publican asked the Conservative Party conference this week why anybody would set up a business in Britain, three weeks before the Budget on 28 October.

The former Top Gear presenter, who now runs a farm and a pub, criticised Labour’s treatment of farming and enterprise. He suggested he may open another pub, but not in Britain.

“Why would anybody set up a business in this country right now?” he asked.

Steve Perez, the hotelier who founded and runs Global Brands, the maker of Hooch and VK, said: “He’s absolutely bang on. I mean, this government in particular has had a smash-and-grab on business. They just see it as a cash cow to get more money for their schemes.”

Perez cited the increase in employers’ national insurance, which he put at £25bn, and the inheritance tax changes affecting family-owned firms and farms. The employer rate rose to 15 per cent from 13.8 per cent on 6 April 2025, and the threshold at which it is paid fell to £5,000 from £9,100, according to HM Revenue & Customs.

“There’s no way I would buy another hotel or pub because it’s just not worth the hassle,” Perez said.

He added: “I think Rachel Reeves got it all wrong; she didn’t really understand business. And as Jeremy Clarkson said, they didn’t really know what they’re doing. I really hope John Healey will have some common sense and understanding of business.”

Andreas Adamides, chief executive of Helm, which represents more than 400 founders of fast-growing firms, said Clarkson had “put his finger on a problem I hear about from founders every week”.

“A £146,000 national insurance rise is not a problem unique to a celebrity’s pub, and thousands of growing businesses face the same pressure,” he said.

“Clarkson says the rise landed just as his pub reached profitability, which is exactly where it hurts growing businesses most. For a scale-up, higher employers’ national insurance can mean hiring five people instead of ten.”

Adamides said founders were “paying more to employ people and keeping less when they sell, and now there is talk of capital gains tax rising again”. Business Matters reported yesterday that tax advisers have called for inflation relief if the chancellor raises the rates. The Treasury said then that decisions on tax were a matter for the chancellor to set out at fiscal events.

“Nearly 6,000 business owners have already left in two years, and we should be persuading them to stay,” Adamides said. “The Budget is the Prime Minister’s chance to show founders that if they build something here, Britain wants them to stay.”

Matthew Elliott, president of the Jobs Foundation charity, said: “Hospitality is often the first rung on the jobs ladder, so with even the likes of Clarkson under pressure, it’s no surprise that nearly a million young people are stuck in their bedrooms.

“Government schemes to help people into work are welcome, but the more meaningful step would be to cut costs and make it easier for businesses to create those jobs in the first place.”

The comments follow analysis of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index showing that billionaires with combined wealth of £120bn have left Britain since Labour came to power. Business Matters reported on Sunday that the property tycoon David Reuben had moved to Monaco.

Luke Johnson, the entrepreneur and co-owner of Gail’s Bakery, said: “It is a disaster for the country that big taxpayers and important investors are leaving. They help fund public services and create jobs, and their exits will create a growing hole in the national finances.”

Hugh Osmond, the former Pizza Express entrepreneur, said: “It’s what we all said would happen and Labour didn’t believe it. Too high tax, big taxpayers leave. Obvious.”

Healey, who replaced Reeves as chancellor in July, has said his first Budget will be “built on fiscal discipline” and will give “businesses and families some of the stability they need to plan for the future”.

Andy Haldane, the president of the British Chambers of Commerce, cautioned against further tax rises in the Budget in an interview with CNBC, Business Matters reported today.

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