"Genuine question - does Reeves understand what she's done? She is going to put a bullet through thousands and thousands of businesses." - Rupert Lowe MP
If you think Britain’s economy was looking bad in the first few months of the Labour Government you ain’t seen nothing yet. We’re a few weeks away from the April 1st and what’s about to hit us is no joke. It’s as if Chancellor Rachal Reeves was a Russian or Chinese plant, determined to inflict the most damage she can on the UK economy. She’s not of course, the explanation is sheer economic incompetence arising from a Socialist’s misunderstanding of how the economy works. This is reinforced by Labour MP’s with very little experience of work outside the public sector and who have endorsed her economy wrecking budget.
They don’t understand that it is businesses large and small that create the wealth that allows Government to fund the public sector. When Labour Party MP’s and activists look at businesses they don’t see the risk and graft that goes into creating a viable and profitable business. Instead, they just see money making machines that can be squeezed for more cash that can redistributed to the public sector. They say they want growth, but how on earth will squeezing businesses for more money actually promote growth? Isn’t it obvious to anyone with just a little bit of commercial sense that extra costs and taxes will have the opposite effect?
As Rupert Lowe says,
“Genuine question – does Reeves understand what she’s done? She is going to put a bullet through thousands and thousands of businesses.
It’s not like she slapped this tax on during a prosperous time. It is bloody hard work running a company now, and she’s made things infinitely more difficult.”
Just consider the tsunami of costs and taxes Labour have unleashed and are due to engulf in a few weeks time. This is a recipe for disaster that will hit high street shops, pubs, cafe’s, garden centres and so on, not to mention bigger operations like supermarket chains, delivery operations and factories.
Massive increase in rate
First, there’s the increase in business rates that will kick in after March 2025. A discount of 75% that was in place will be reduced to 40%. That will see rates bills nearly doubled in 2025/26! Just think about that if you’re the owner of a small shop, a cafe or a pub. Where is that money going to come from? To put that into context it is estimated that pubs will have to serve an extra 60,000 pints each year or 12000 extra pints a week just to pay the rates bill! As an example, Britain’s oldest pub, ‘Ye Olde Fighting Cocks’ located in St. Albans, will face a whopping increase in rates of £30,000!
A triple whammy of costs hitting!
As if that wasn’t bad enough, these businesses face extra costs on top of business rates too. There’s a triple whammy of increases related to wages. It starts with the minimum wage being increased by 6.7% which businesses have to fund. To make matters worse these same businesses are also going to have to pay higher national insurance of 15% (up from 13.8%) on these increased wages. The final whammy is that the threshold on which National Insurance is paid will be cut from £9100 per annum to just £5000. This means businesses who have relied on part-time workers will be hit. Can you imagine the anguish of many business owners?
Research shows the average High Street shop employing two full-time and three part time staff will pay an extra £3,300 per annum. Think about the small corner shop or high street cafe… what are they supposed to do? Raise prices and risk losing trade? Cut-down on hours? Sack staff? Perhaps just close-up shop, because it’s economically unviable. The owner of one small computer sales and repair shop in Bristol employing two people said it costs him “£100,000 to not even sell anything.” It’s now going to cost more just to stay open.
Wafer thin margins
Another shop owner, told the Daily Express he could be forced to close his suburban London book store and coffee shop in which he employs eight members of full and part-time staff.
“Things are already tight but these changes will make things incredibly difficult. It might not sound much to people but I’m working on wafer-thin margins.”
The story doesn’t end there though. To cap it all off businesses in the UK face higher energy costs because of Labour’s absurd Net Zero policies. There is now evidence we have the highest energy bills in the world; 50% higher than Germany and France and four times higher than the US.
There isn’t going to be any £300 price reduction as promised by Miliband, prices are going up and with the cost of heating, lighting and delivery. It’s not good for farmers either. Supermarkets have already warned they will be effected and will try to limit prices increases of food by “cooperating” with suppliers, by which they squeezing suppliers.
Far from investing in the High Street, Labour’s budget is an attack on it and those few communities still lucky enough to have a local shop and a pub. This will effect all of and not just in terms of the high street but in the form of higher prices for everything from food to manufactured products and services. And it will affect employment too.
Rupert Lowe laid into Reeves predicting companies
“… won’t invest, they won’t hire, they won’t grow. And what happens? Less and less tax is paid, and this whole sorry show will be a huge drain on the economy.
The ONLY way to properly deliver growth is through the individual. Cut their tax, and MOTIVATE people.”
It’s already happening to small retail outlets to the supermarket giants. Sainsbury’s has announced the closure of all its cafes with the loss of 3000 jobs. The clothing retailer ‘New Look’ said it was looking to close 25% of its stores. Shoe Zone has announced it it going to shut shops in response to soaring wages. There’s countless more examples of smaller retail and hospitality businesses closing. In London three Petersham Group Michelin restaurants have been forced to close.
Farmers hit again
Farms are reeling from it too. GB News reported that nearly half of the UK’s 1580 farm shop will probably have to close. Huttons gift shop, described as a local icon has shut up shop in Putney after nearly four decades of trading. In Harrogate Lancaster’s Bakery closed after a 119 years run. A popular restaurant in Christchurch, Dorset closed permanently with the owner La Mamma pizzeria saying, “this stems from Labour and Rachel Reeves’ budget. Everything has just gone to pot since then.”
We in Reform should be speaking to local businesses, listening to their stories and formulating our response. Those standing for council should certainly take these views on board and offer our support and and encourage them to join our efforts to throw out this appallingly incompetent government.
