A new Prime Minister, but the same pressures on the high street
Today’s resignation of the Prime Minister is a major political moment.
For the hair & beauty sector, it may feel like another example of politics moving quickly while the pressures facing businesses stay exactly where they are.
A change in Prime Minister can change the political mood. It can reset priorities, create new ministerial teams and reopen policy debates. But it does not automatically reduce wage bills, lower energy costs, reform VAT, fix business rates or make it easier for small employers to take on apprentices.
That is why the sector cannot afford for today’s news to become another pause in government activity.
The latest NHBF State of the Sector survey shows why this matters. The survey captured evidence from 423 business owners and professionals at the start of 2026. Most businesses were not saying they were in collapse, but they were not describing a comfortable position either.
Of those who responded, 218 said business was steady, while 77 said they were busy. But 101 said trade was quieter and 27 said it was really quiet. That matters because steady trading is not the same as financial security.
The profitability figures make that even clearer. Only 33 businesses said they were making a good profit. A further 158 were making a small profit, while 148 were just about breaking even. Another 62 were making a small loss each month and 22 were making a substantial loss.
That is the reality behind the doors of many salons, barbershops and beauty businesses. They may be open. They may be serving clients. They may still be part of the local high street. But many are doing that with very little room left to absorb another cost shock.
The pressures are also clear. The top cost concerns in the survey were National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage increases, employer National Insurance Contributions and energy prices. These are not optional extras. They are core operating costs for a labour-intensive, premises-based sector.
This is where the political significance of today’s resignation comes in.
A new Prime Minister and a new government team will have choices to make. They can treat high street businesses as a backdrop for speeches about growth, community and local pride. Or they can look seriously at the operating model of the small employers who keep those high streets alive.
Hair & beauty businesses create jobs, train young people, support apprenticeships, bring footfall into town centres and provide trusted services in every community. But the evidence shows too many are being pushed into survival decisions. In the latest survey, 110 respondents said they expected to downsize, close or hand over the business in the next 12 months.
That should concern any government that says it wants growth.
Today’s political news will dominate the headlines. But for the hair and beauty sector, the question is not simply who leads the Government next.
The question is whether the next phase of government will recognise the reality facing small, people-based businesses.
That means action on fairer taxation, employment costs, apprenticeships, business rates, premises costs and enforcement against unfair competition. It also means listening to the evidence coming directly from business owners, not designing policy around assumptions about how the sector works.
Political leadership changes. The pressures facing the sector remain.
The task now is to make sure the next Prime Minister understands that supporting the high street means supporting the businesses that are already holding it together.