Tentative business welcome for Sunak amid deepening economic gloom

UK industry leaders hope for urgent steps from new PM to repair battered business confidence

Anxious business leaders have cautiously welcomed Rishi Sunak as prime minister amid signs the UK economy is heading for recession after a sharp fall in confidence among company bosses during Liz Truss's brief premiership.

The latest snapshot from the economy showed optimism among business leaders collapsed in October to the lowest level since April 2020, during the early stages of the Covid pandemic, as intense inflationary pressures, escalating political uncertainty and rising borrowing costs weighed on growth.