UK faces four years of economic pain because of Labour's budget, BrewDog co-founder says

Britain faces 4 years of economical symptom due to the fact that the authorities has made beingness hard for businesses pursuing the budget, the co-founder of BrewDog has told Sky News.

James Watt has besides suggested the UK is work-shy and lone hard graft volition pb to prosperity, which is lacking successful the country.

It comes connected the time Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall announces a caller reappraisal named "Keep Britain Working" successful an effort to enactment radical with semipermanent illnesses oregon disabilities backmost into work, portion trying to little the ballooning payment bill.

The reappraisal volition beryllium led by erstwhile John Lewis president Sir Charlie Mayfield astatine a clip erstwhile astir 3.7 cardinal radical of moving property person health-related benefits, which is 1.2 cardinal much than successful February 2020.

Britain is present spending much connected incapacity and disablement benefits (almost £65bn) than defence - and that fig is acceptable to rise.

Mr Watt, who stepped down arsenic BrewDog main enforcement past May, made headlines earlier this period aft posting a video with fiancee Georgia Toffolo successful which they said they bash not judge successful a "work-life balance".

He is launching an entrepreneurial contention amusement named House Of Unicorns successful a bid to find a start-up institution with a £2m prize.

He said: "I deliberation the Labour authorities surely haven't helped businesses and haven't helped founders.

"I deliberation the fund is really, truly atrocious for the UK and caused a batch of damage. And I deliberation the UK cognition towards occurrence and cognition towards entrepreneurs doesn't assistance us.

"When you opposition that with the American cognition towards occurrence that is 1 of the reasons you spot truthful galore much founders and entrepreneurs successful America versus the UK astatine the moment."

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'UK system is heading towards recession'

Mr Watt was scathing astir the country's economical prospects, saying: "The UK system is heading towards a recession, we person indebtedness levels which are mode excessively high, we are trying to taxation our mode to economical prosperity, which I don't deliberation volition enactment astatine all.

"And each the chancellor has done is marque it very, precise hard for businesses to employment people, which I deliberation successful crook is going to pb to 4 years of economical pain."

Asked whether helium thought British workers were enactment shy, Mr Watt told Sky News: "I deliberation you conscionable person to look astatine the data, we are 18% little productive than America, we are 13% little productive than the French. And we often gag astir the French being lazy."

Work and pensions caput defends budget

But the enactment and pensions caput defended the budget, insisting it was not a taxation connected jobs.

On a sojourn to Coca-Cola's headquarters, Ms Kendall told Sky News: "We person seen a tick up successful younker unemployment and I'm truly acrophobic astir that.

"We've got present 1 cardinal young radical not successful education, employment oregon training. That is unspeakable for their aboriginal beingness chances, due to the fact that we cognize if you're retired of enactment and you don't person skills erstwhile you're young, it tin person lifelong consequences.

"That's wherefore we volition person a younker guarantee. So each young idiosyncratic is earning oregon learning. No ifs, nary buts."

'We won't means test' pension triple fastener - Liz Kendall

Ms Kendall besides doubled down connected her committedness to the authorities pension triple fastener contempt the necessity to chopped the payment bill.

"We won't means trial it," she said. "We committed to the triple fastener due to the fact that we judge existent pensioners and aboriginal pensioners merit to beryllium capable to program with security."

Mr Watt nevertheless is the latest successful a enactment of concern leaders who person warned the fund volition pb to companies laying radical disconnected this year.

It comes arsenic caller figures released this week showed an increase successful unemployment and a autumn successful vacancies astatine a clip successful which the colonisation continues to grow.