Employers

Robbie Moore Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Julia Lopez]

It is absolutely part of the problem. Labour did not think that through, and I have an example of that same phenomenon with the hospice in my constituency, as well as with a number of public sector organisations and charities.

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

To build on that point, the same applies to the education setting. I met some of my headteachers just last week. Despite employer national insurance going up, central Government grant covers only about 70% of the cost, so the additional 30% must come out of the existing school budget. That has led to teaching assistants being let go and made redundant in my constituency. Does my hon. Friend not agree that that detrimental increase in tax has hit everybody across every constituency?

[Julia Lopez]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. It has been seen in my constituency and across Whitehall. It is an absolute dog’s dinner of a policy that has created problems for not just the private sector but the public sector.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robbie Moore (Keighley and Ilkley) (Con)]

When Labour campaigners knocked on doors at the last general election, they made a promise—a promise that they would not raise taxes on working people and that they would not increase national insurance—and people put their trust in them. Today, however, the shutters are coming down on our high streets, young people cannot get a foot on the ladder and the business owners, who were told that they had nothing to fear from this Labour Government, are now paying the price for that broken promise. Let no one pretend that this is a debate about abstract tax rates; it is about jobs, the future of our high streets and whether the commitments that this Labour Government made to the electorate carry any weight at all.

Labour let the mask slip when the Chief Secretary to the Treasury said that employers are not working people. What an absolute load of rubbish. Of course, employers are working people—the café owner who starts work before dawn, the farmer who employs staff from the local community, or the pub landlord who has gone without their own salary to keep their staff in work. Each of them are working people, and each of them have been asked to pay more by this Labour Government, who promised that they would not.

On broken promises and the rising cost of employment, Labour’s manifesto stated that it would not increase national insurance, yet in its first Budget the Government increased employer national insurance from 13.8% to 15% and cut the threshold at which it is paid from £9,100 to £5,000. The thresholds actively hurt part-time and lower-paid roles, which are precisely the jobs on which many young people depend. Ministers claim that this is not a tax on businesses, but it absolutely is a tax on businesses and working people. That has been seen throughout this debate. Then there is the increase to the minimum wage, which again stifled business growth. And that is before we look at the challenge of the Employment Rights Act 2025. Under this Labour Government we have seen higher taxes, higher costs and more red tape. Far from being the party of business, Labour is showing itself to be actively discouraging growth and killing the businesses up and down the country that are the very backbone of our economy.

Let me turn to my own constituency. We have held many roundtables with many local businesses, and I thank Sarah Brookfield-Almond and Ryan Troy from the Ilkley and Keighley business improvement districts for helping me to organise them. The businesses who came along were retailers, hospitality businesses and independent traders. Employers of every size were present—people who have spent years building up their businesses and who give work to local people across my constituency. Their message was consistent and stark: they described the relentless pressure of the increase in employer national insurance contributions, the minimum wage increase with no support to meet their needs, the business rates that bear down on them and the uncertainty of the Employment Rights Act hitting their businesses hard. These businesses are not asking for special treatment; they are asking for a Government who understand and want to support them.

One fantastic local business which has grown and expanded is Three Little Birds Bakery, owned and run by Bec Severs. She has a shop in Keighley, and recently opened one in Ilkley. Bec has been very clear about her views on the Labour Government’s most recent Budget. Taking to Facebook, she said:

“This budget does nothing to help”.

On the latest minimum wage rises, she says there is “absolutely no support” for how she will now have to pay that money to her employees. That has been heard loud and clear by the Turkey Inn, which has now reduced its working hours from seven days a week to four days a week on the back of this Government. Then we look at that hospice sector, which is being hit very hard, such as Sue Ryder Manorlands hospice in my constituency, by the rise in employer national insurance.

Those people are not think-tanks. They are not economic advisers to this Government. They are hard-working people in my constituency who are being impacted heavily by the choices of this Labour Government. This Labour Government are not on the side of hard-working people and my constituents are feeling the brunt of it.