Budget 2012: Lord Sugar slams Osborne’s ‘hollow promises’

LORD Sugar has accused Chancellor George Osborne of producing “hollow promises” for business in his Budget, rather than tangible measures to help lift the economy.

The entrepreneur and star of BBC One’s The Apprentice programme said the Budget should have had some “meaningful offerings to encourage investment and instill confidence”.

He suggested these could have included a cut in VAT, a one-year’s National Insurance holiday for small businesses taking on extra workers, or a cut in business rates.

He said: “These are just a few things that would have immediate impact and genuine help for small businesses. Instead, regretfully, we’ve got hollow promises that we continue to hear.”

In a Lords debate yesterday, Lord Sugar also launched a personal attack on Business Secretary Vince Cable’s lack of business experience.

He said: “It amazes me that the Business Secretary announces a lot of hollow initiatives under the guise of helping small businesses and yet he is someone who has never been in business, never been on the coalface, never run a business, never understood the needs of a small business.”

He added the Budget paid the “usual lip service” about how the government was going to help small businesses