Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Bill Esterson, shadow minister for small business, arranges to meet me at Portcullis House, the ominous-looking building beside the Houses of Parliament.
Once past the beefed-up security (“It’s because of Brexit,” Esterson grumbles), it’s a jolt to see many of the faces you see on the nightly news: over in one corner sits Robert Peston, while Andrea Leadsom and Nicky Morgan sit at others and James Cleverly wanders through waving at people. Clearly, this is the beating heart of Government.
Esterson, 52, became an MP in 2010 having previously run a training consultancy with his wife. Their small business employed 14 people. Then the Financial Crisis of 2008 happened, and their bank called in its overdraft. The Estersons used their savings to repay the bank and pay staff salaries.
“It’s a story I hear again and again from businesses,” he says. “It’s absolutely essential that we put in support and advice and really back our small firms.”
Esterson, who became an MP in 2010 and has been shadow small business minister since 2016, is clearly what used to be known as “a red-hot Socialist” in the old parlance. Passionate about the problems facing small business, once he
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Boris Johnson to fund tax cuts by increasing NI contributions
by Timothy Adler • • 0 Comments
Originally written by Timothy Adler on Small Business
Boris Johnson plans to increase the amount both employers and employees pay by way of National Insurance contributions to help fund tax cuts for the well-off.
Johnson, who is front runner to become Prime Minister during the Tory leadership election, has vowed to raise the 40pc income tax threshold from £50,000 to £80,000.
His income tax plan will cost an estimated £10bn, which will also be funded, Johnson writes in today’s Daily Telegraph, by digging in to the £26.6bn which Chancellor Philip Hammond has set aside to cushion against a no-deal Brexit. Given that Johnson is one of the handful of Tory leadership hopefuls open to a no-deal Brexit, politicians have wondered where this cash will come from.
Given that Boris Johnson has called himself a One Nation Conservative – concerned about equality between the rich and the poor – others see the move as breathtakingly cynical and opportunistic, appealing directly to Conservative Party members about to vote in a new leader, many of whom as richer pensioners do not pay NI.
Both Johnson and leadership rival Jeremy Hunt have both pledged to cut corporation tax. Hunt also wants to use the Chancellor’s £26.6bn “fiscal headroom”, in
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Why our politicians need to make small businesses a big priority
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
It is repeatedly said by politicians that small businesses are the backbone of our society. It is not the large conglomerates or the multinational giants, but the thousands of businesses that employ either a sole trader or a handful of staff that are legion and massively contribute to the economy. For a government, even a
The post Why our politicians need to make small businesses a big priority appeared first on Small Business.