15 Aug 2017
Data published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has revealed that confidence amongst businesses in the UK has taken a 'major knock', and has fallen into negative territory.
The ICAEW's Business Confidence Monitor fell from a reading of 6.7 in the second quarter of this year to -8 during the third quarter.
Issues that came to light as a result of the snap General Election and the subsequent hung Parliament contributed towards the negative reading, the ICAEW suggested.
The data also revealed that the ongoing Brexit negotiations between the UK government and EU officials have also been having an effect on firms' confidence levels.
Matthew Rideout, Director of Business at the ICAEW, commented: 'Since the announcement of the General Election, a vacuum has been left with government's attention swallowed by a hung Parliament and the start of EU negotiations.
'The industrial strategy has been lost in the void, coupled with no clear signal towards post-Brexit policy. As a result, businesses cannot see through this haze of uncertainty and are struggling to look further than the end of the next quarter in terms of their decision making.'