The Bank of England Governor today joined Britain’s biggest retailers including Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s warning that job cuts are “inevitable” after Rachel Reeves’s tax-hiking Budget. The Mail has the story.
Andrew Bailey said dozens of businesses – including Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s – had been “right” to sound the alarm in an open letter to the Chancellor.
Ms. Reeves unveiled an extraordinary £25 billion hike in employers’ National Insurance Contributions in the Budget last month. The rate has been raised and the threshold at which firms must pay has been cut, with Ministers adamant it was the only way to prop up public services.
But the OBR projected that the fiscal package would boost inflation and unemployment.
In the letter today, the companies cautioned that the huge tax increase, together with packaging levies and increases to the national minimum wage could cost retailers more than £7 billion a year.
“We appreciate Government’s focus on improving the fiscal situation and investing in public services; we also recognise the role businesses have in supporting this,” the letter said.
“But, the sheer scale of new costs and the speed with which they occur create a cumulative burden that will make job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty.”
The bosses of Aldi, Amazon U.K., Boots, Lidl, JD Sports, Primark, Morrisons and Greggs were also among those signing.
Giving evidence to the Treasury Select Committee this morning, Mr. Bailey said: “I saw the BRC’s (British Retail Consortium’s) letter and I think they’re right to say, I think there is a risk here that the reduction in employment could be more. Yes, I think that’s a risk.”
Worth reading in full.
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I never trust people who wear photochromic glasses.
Very much hope it’s better than last week’s. I used to be more Team James than Team Toby, but, after last week….., if James continues with the constant digs, insults and personal attacks (and, unlike the broadcasts we came to know and love, not in light-hearted vein) I will no longer be listening.
Exactly how I felt. I would add however that Toby exhibits wilful blindness over James’ points sometimes, and does characterise his more far out beliefs as conspiracy theories, rather than attempting to address them.
I think he’s just getting exasperated at the constant attacks from James (and they have, sadly, become attacks now) and starting to hit back a little and give a bit of ‘like for like’. But, sure, perhaps it would be better to say something like ‘That’s an interesting theory. I’ll admit I haven’t looked deeply into it, and if I had any working minutes left after my work for the Daily Sceptic and The Free Speech Union and the journalism necessary to feed my family, I would.’
Sadly, I have given up on these.
I thoroughly enjoyed the early ones, then they got longer and longer. Then when listening to them I began feel that James was starting to sound like a child who thinks shouting “bum” or “poo” will cause his elders to have fit of the vapours.
There is now little reasoned discussion.
I an surprised that Toby continues with them.
I would rather hear him talking with Nick although those are becoming rather long and tedious and could do with some sharper editing.
Have just listened. Thank goodness – it was much better than last week. Just the right touch this time, from both.