Rain Newton-Smith

Chief Executive of @cbitweets. Passionate about climate action & biodiversity. Mother of four inquiring minds.

[Neil Carberry @RECNeil]

Ending a busy 48h which included a fantastic day with our @RECPress team, and representing @RECmembers at the Professional Services Industrial Strategy Council with @CBItweets dinner. @RainNewtonSmith rightly calling for leadership and focus on growth from govt, not navel gazing.

[CBI @CBItweets]

Our CEO @RainNewtonSmith spoke to business leaders and politicians at #CBIDinner26 this evening warning that rising business costs and a record tax burden are pushing firms towards a tipping point. Read her speech here 👉https://t.co/IfpYcm9hIU

[CBI @CBItweets]

🌍 Great to see this new report from @ECIU_UK on the value of the UK’s net zero economy – with expert analysis from @CBI_Economics.

Find out how @CBI_Economics can help your business here 👉 https://t.co/lSSZFnzgRw

[CBI @CBItweets]

At #UKREiiF next week, the @CBItweets and @brownejacobson will discuss how to accelerate infrastructure delivery to spur regional growth.

Join us on 19 May for the launch of our joint research👇

Read more:
https://t.co/l4h7OfnihT

#Infrastructure #Investment

[Liam Byrne MP @liambyrnemp]

Great session with @RainNewtonSmith and @CBItweets today on @CommonsBTC 2026 Priorities Report. Exactly the dialogue that sharpens our work. More to come.

[CBI @CBItweets]

.@CBItweets & @BritAmBusiness have agreed a new partnership to strengthen the UK-US relationship, unlock trade & investment opportunities and drive growth on both sides of the Atlantic.

International cooperation is vital in this time of heightened geopolitical unpredictability.

[CBI @CBItweets]

What does the UK-China visit mean for British business? Our CEO @RainNewtonSmith spoke to @BBCRadio4 on how visa-free travel & a new services partnership will turbocharge our world-leading services sector, supporting jobs & growth at home.
Listen here 👇

[CBI @CBItweets]

At #Davos2026, we’re turning global insights into UK growth. Insightful dialogue at our co-hosted event with @RainNewtonSmith, @KPMG & @cityoflondon on the UK’s role as a premier investment destination with: @RachelReevesMP, @peterkyle & @jstockwood.
#TeamUK #Growth

[Martin Sartorius @SartoriusMartin]

Excited to finally share our latest CBI UK Economic Forecast. We expect moderate growth ahead, but, under the surface, household spending and business investment remain subdued.

Check out the key points in the thread below 👇

[Paul Johnson @PJTheEconomist]

Govt hitting graduates by freezing repayment threshold. Hitting students by not increasing support in line with inflation. Hitting universities, a successful export sector, by levying a tax on income from foreign students.

https://t.co/JPpE60QhYx

[CBI Wales @CBICymru]

The Welsh Dragon roared at @LlywodraethCym Wales Investment Summit @ICCWales!

From tech, life sciences, semiconductors to creatives, advanced manufacturing and amazing speakers @KensingtonRoyal @PrifWeinidog @RachelReevesMP, @peterkyle - an amazing day to #InvestInWales2025!

[CBI @CBItweets]

🎙 This weekend, our CEO, @RainNewtonSmith, joined @BBCRadio4 to discuss the urgent priorities for UK business after the UK Budget and reflected on the landmark decision on the Employment Rights Bill. Listen here 👇

[CBI @CBItweets]

📢 A Once in a Generation Change: Our CEO @RainNewtonSmith went on @BBCNews last night to discuss the significant step forward achieved by business organisations and unions. This is a testament to the power of collaboration for the UK economy. Listen here 👇

[CBI @CBItweets]

🎙️Following the Budget announcement, our CEO @RainNewtonSmith shared the CBI's view on @SkyNews, emphasizing the need for decisive action to unlock the UK's growth potential. Listen here 👇

[Alex Wickham @alexwickham]

** NEW: Bloomberg Budget analysis **

— Labour MPs say Rachel Reeves has done enough to help her and Keir Starmer survive. Markets reacted positively. But on both fronts there’s little sign this was a turning point longer-term.

— The OBR conclusion that the budget does nothing to help growth is damning. “The government’s growth mission is currently stalled,” says the CBI’s @RainNewtonSmith.

— “When you carry on pretending that nothing has to be dealt with, it is uninspiring and pretty disappointing,” says top economist Jim O’Neill. The IoD’s Anna Leach says businesses will bear the burden. Even the Resolution Foundation expressed concerns about the credibility of Reeves’ fiscal plans.

— Labour MPs on the left are the ones who seem happiest thanks to the two-child cap going and tax rises hitting the rich. It’s those on the right of the party who are less enthusiastic about the total lack of a growth plan.

— @justinmadders: “I don’t think anyone is seriously speaking about an imminent leadership challenge. If the budget had landed badly it could have made a difficult situation worse, but it’s actually landed pretty well.”

— Tribune rebels back it. Plus @alexsobel tells us it was a more Labour budget. Critic @NeilForPoole says it starts to address the cost-of-living.

— Govt officials are cautiously optimistic about the initial reaction both in the markets and politically. One accepted Reeves' first two budgets had been difficult but argued she’s shown she’s stabilised the public finances, won over markets and is now starting to be able to implement Labour policies. They said she still has three more budgets until the next election where she can deliver better news, and MPs should keep their eyes on the prize.

— But some who are typically pro-Starmer expressed disappointment at a budget they saw as treading water. One said it was smartly designed to get them through the winter but did little to arrest Britain's wider economic malaise. Another characterised it as tinkering and devoid of either a political or economic strategy. Others warned Reeves against managing decline, urging a bolder budget next year as time is slipping away.

— A Starmer loyalist gave a two-word review that summed up the muted support offered by many in the party: "Basically fine."

With top team @PhilAldrick @EllenAMilligan @LucyGJWhite @Joe_Mayes @WillStandring

https://t.co/X4TIke9STE

[Times Radio @TimesRadio]

“We need to be more bold, more ambitious.”

Director General of the CBI, @RainNewtonSmith, reveals what she thinks is missing from Rachel Reeves’s budget to get Britain out of being “stuck in neutral."

@JPonpolitics

[CBI @CBItweets]

🎙️ New Podcast Alert! At the CBI Annual Conference 2025 our CEO @RainNewtonSmith had the pleasure of speaking with @SamCoatesSky and @annemcelvoy on "Politics At Sam and Anne’s" Podcast about the CBI’s priorities ahead of the UK Budget.
Listen here👇
https://t.co/YITTSzz2vc

[CBI @CBItweets]

Speaking to hundreds of businesses at the CBI Annual Conference 2025 in London, our CEO @RainNewtonSmith uses a major speech just days ahead of the UK Budget to challenge the government to make hard choices. #CBI25

Read more here 👇
https://t.co/sBTAYdjbas

[Alex Wickham @alexwickham]

Britain’s top business group has urged Rachel Reeves not to put the country on a “road to certain decline” with a series of tax rises at the budget

“Biggest fear is if we get the wrong choices on Wednesday, more short-term tinkering, more bold choices not made, more politics over growth,” says the CBI’s @RainNewtonSmith

“We risk getting locked in a stop-start economy where large tax rises rear their head every year,” she said. “That is not the road to growth. That is a cycle of doubt and uncertainty, a road to certain decline.”

Via @PhilAldrick @Joe_Mayes @EllenAMilligan

https://t.co/CrJNveeWqH

[CBI @CBItweets]

📢 The message from our CEO @RainNewtonSmith, at our Annual Conference was clear: The government must double down on the delivery of the growth mission in tomorrow's UK Budget and beyond.
#CBI25 #UKEconomy #BusinessVoice