Britainupdated 1h ago2 min read
Archive photo · 18 July 2024Emma Reynolds Sparks Fury Over Claim Employers Aren’t Working People
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Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said employers are not working people. Her remark drew cross-party criticism and revived debate over Labour’s working-people definition.
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Reynolds sparks row
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said on GB News that she does not think “employers are working people, they are companies.” Host Camilla Tominey asked Reynolds whether employing a cleaner meant Tominey was not a working person, and Reynolds replied, “No, but you’re an employee probably of your company, and I’m saying there is a difference between employers and employees.” Reynolds’ remarks revived a row over Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledge not to raise taxes on “working people”, including through VAT, national insurance, and income tax.
“I don’t think employers are working people. They are companies.”
Critics pointed to former chancellor Rachel Reeves’ October 2024 increase in the employers’ rate of national insurance as an alleged manifesto breach, while ministers argued it hit employers rather than employees. Reynolds also defended measures announced by Chancellor John Healey on Wednesday, saying, “We made a very conscious decision in this Budget for the tax increases to be targeted and fair.”
Opposition pushback
Shadow business minister Bradley Thomas wrote on X that Labour’s stance showed “Labour’s patronising, out-of-touch, politics of envy on display here from minister Emma Reynolds.”
Thomas argued that Labour overlooked “the thousands of small businesses who employ people,” including “The electrician who works but takes on apprentices” and “The florist who runs her shop and has a young person work a few hours on weekends.”
Shadow work and pensions minister Helen Whately said Reynolds’ comments showed “This attitude is why Labour is killing our economy. They don’t understand businesses are built by hard graft. By working people.”
Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge wrote that “Employing people is one of the hardest jobs there is. And Labour are making it harder.”
Reform UK Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick added that “Labour don’t think employers are working people,” and he told Reynolds, “Tell that to the millions of small business owners who employ people.”
Budget and tax stakes
Reynolds defended Healey’s Budget approach to landlords and savers, saying the government made “a very conscious decision in this Budget for the tax increases to be targeted and fair.” Reynolds said the Budget increased the corporation tax on banks to pay for “the £100 energy support package for families in council tax bands A to D,” while taking VAT off electricity for “a further three months” and extending the fuel duty cut. The debate also turned to the tax treatment of savings and rental income, with the Budget lifting tax rates on savings interest and property income to 24 per cent for basic-rate payers, 44 per cent for higher-rate payers, and 49 per cent for additional-rate earners from April 2027.
The Times of India reported that the main rate of employers’ national insurance rose from 13.5% to 15%, while the secondary threshold fell from £9,100 to £5,000. A Treasury spokesperson defended the government’s position by saying it would stick to its manifesto commitments and would not increase the rates of income tax, employee national insurance, VAT or corporation tax.