We already have some of the most expensive power in the world, but costs will rise still higher, the security of supply will be weakened, and we may well see more stringent quotas of cars and vans introduced as manufacturers struggle to avoid fines for not selling enough electric vehicles that no one wants.
The list goes on and on. It is going to be a brutal five years for businesses. Over the next few weeks, companies will have to figure out ways of standing up to the onslaught heading their way. They will have to be prepared to relocate, with plans in place to shift their headquarters overseas, and perhaps production facilities as well. They will have to make sure ministers are aware of that, and hope that the threat is enough to moderate some of the wilder proposals.
They will have to be prepared to negotiate hard, refusing to join any of the “partnerships” or “investment drives” the new government may well launch as part of what will increasingly be a “planned economy” unless there are concessions elsewhere.
And, perhaps most of all, the corporate sector should engage in its own form of “lawfare”, turning the hugely increased power of the courts against its architects. Every piece of employment legislation, or new regulation, should be taken to judicial review, on to the Supreme Court, and then the European Court of Human Rights, to delay it as long as possible. Whatever his other faults, Sir Keir is a lawyer to his fingertips, and will respect the process. If nothing else, it will be amusing to watch Labour get tied up in the same legal maze it has trapped everyone else in for the last 20 years.
The new Government will talk endlessly about growth. It will stage lots of summits, and launch plenty of task forces and initiatives. And yet the charm offensive is now clearly over, and the business leaders, lobby groups, and trade associations that helped propel the party into power can’t expect any special treatment.
In reality, this will be the most anti-business, anti-enterprise government the UK has seen since the 1970s, and perhaps even since the 1940s. It is going to be a hostile environment for anyone who wants to grow a business. In small ways, the private sector will have to find ways of fighting back against that – but no one should kid themselves that the next five years won’t be very difficult, and the UK will be a very hard place to run a successful company.