Star comment: What next as businesses face uncertainty?

We’ve been buffeted by a series of economic shocks in recent years. Brexit, Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine have all had a profound impact.

Couple those with the breakdown of the supply chain, the spiralling cost of energy and the increase in transportation costs of around 33 per cent in the past few months.

Such conditions are driving many companies out of business and we must be realistic about how well others will fare.

If we want to understand the nature of the challenges facing the UK at the moment we might consider the words of the boss of Next. The store is an ongoing success story and has a number of busy branches across the UK. But it is not immune from the many issues that our economy faces - and the impact they are having on all of us.

Inflation is impacting, with Next expecting to take prices up by an average of eight per cent. It is being hit by the rising cost of heating stores and fuelling delivery trucks. It is also having to face the challenge of a shortage of workers as labour is squeezed post-Brexit.

And it is now faced with the uncertainty of war - both directly in having to pull out of Russia and indirectly because the sanctions imposed the country - via the pressure on fuel costs - will hurt the UK economy too.

All this, of course, on the back of Covid, an extraordinary event that brought retail to a standstill for a while and saw many big names disappear for good.

With Next struggling, we must accept that so are many other businesses, which adds further uncertainty to the economic outlook.

We cannot allow Ukraine to fall to Russia. Doing so would be disastrous for global security. It would mark a victory for authoritarianism against democracy, for brutality against the rule of law.

It will be expensive to support Ukraine, though the world has seen far worse and made far greater sacrifices. Imagine where we would be if we had been cowed by Hitler? It is almost unthinkable.

Nato must stand strong. While it does not want to come into direct conflict with Russia, it must continue to support the Ukrainians. Putin must not be allowed to progress further with his invasion. He must be further frustrated militarily and he must be further weakened through sanctions. To allow Russia to take over Ukraine would be a disaster. We must stand firm with our allies.

Peace and freedom have a price we can afford.