Mark Stewart, chief executive of Gloucester-based Stewart Golf, has resigned from his role as one of the government’s “export champions,” citing frustration with what he calls Labour’s “anti-business policies” under Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves.
Stewart’s company, which manufactures electric golf buggies, exports half of its £7 million turnover to the United States.
His departure comes after the speech from the chancellor on Wednesday, where announcements on airport expansions, updated regulations, and investment in technology clusters were made to bolster the UK’s growth prospects.
Having just returned from a trip to America, Stewart, 45, says the contrast in attitudes to business could not be starker. “I can’t be part of this,” he told The Times. “Every turn, there’s something that makes life more difficult for people trying to run small businesses like mine. I don’t feel we’re being supported or encouraged even to try and be better.”
He pointed specifically to Labour’s rhetoric as undermining British optimism, referencing the shadow chancellor’s comments about aspiring to “American-style optimism” during a trip on China’s bullet train. “Between you and the boss [Starmer], all you’ve done is talk down the UK,” he said.
Stewart also expressed dismay at government plans for stricter employment rights and what he sees as punitive taxes on business assets passed between family members, echoing widespread disquiet among SMEs. “We are good at what we do,” he said. “I don’t want to be worrying about day-one employment rights. I want to be making great golf trolleys and trying to sell them.”
The entrepreneur was one of about 400 “export champions” appointed by the Department for Business and Trade to share insights on growing overseas sales. While he praised the scheme’s intentions, he said burdensome policy measures had tipped him towards quitting.
Not all export champions share Stewart’s stance. Adam Sopher, co-founder of luxury popcorn producer Joe & Seph’s, chooses to remain. “It is better to represent as an export champion and have some influence than not be able to,” he said, noting that 30 per cent of his business comes from export sales. “The government can do more to help small companies expand into Europe, and I am keen to help.”
Sopher acknowledged that rising national insurance contributions and increased costs are hurting margins across the sector, but views the role of export champion as a chance to push for constructive policy solutions.
A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson thanked Stewart for his work but argued that “driving economic growth is our number one mission. Britain is back, open for business, and we’re focused on widening opportunities for businesses to export and break into new markets.”
Stewart’s resignation, however, underscores the mounting tension between smaller exporters and policy decisions that they feel hamper competitiveness—at a time when the government is making high-profile announcements aimed at spurring growth. Whether these new initiatives can quell dissatisfaction among key SME figures remains to be seen.
