The Chancellor has promised to “boldly regulate for growth” but that’s easy to say and costs nothing. The UK’s problem isn’t paperwork, it’s the relentless pressure of ever higher prices and government constraints, says Helen Thomas

The Chancellor has given a Regional Investment Summit speech where she tapped into her inner Spock, promising to “go further to boldly regulate for growth”. It was pitched as a rallying cry for enterprise with a promise to sweep away red tape and unshackle growth, reiterating the call from her summertime Mansion House speech to “take the boot off the throat of businesses”. But for most British firms, regulation isn’t the problem keeping them awake at night – not when the relentless rise in their costs leaves them simply trying to survive. Deregulation might sound bold, but it’s yesterday’s battle. The new fight is affordability.

The language of deregulation carries a certain nostalgic appeal. It conjures memories of Thatcher-era liberation and unleashing business so that it can soar. Politically, it’s convenient as it costs nothing to promise and it sounds pro-business without requiring any spending commitments. The Chancellor claimed in her........

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