"National Security can't come at the cost of Social Security" - WTAF?

No. Slashing taxes increases profits.

Growth requires investment. There is no direct pipeline from profits to investment in the UK especially since the number of foreign owned businesses has soared by 35% since Brexit and account for around 30% of the aGVA.

Things are a lot more complex than you realise.

I was a consultant with a portfolio of dozens of businesses (profit and not for profit) with total annual revenues over £30 billion.

Forgive me - you were a consultant with a portfolio….you were a consultant or you managed a portfolio of companies? Which is it?

I’m early retired.
I was a consultant with a portfolio of dozens of businesses (profit and not for profit) with total annual revenues over £30 billion.
The NI increase of 1.2% was peanuts. If you can’t handle such a small change that was completely offset for micro businesses by the doubled employment allowance , you really are in trouble.
Brexit was a much bigger fish to fry with loss of jobs for young people in sectors like hospitality plus the shocking increases to import/export business costs and EU market loss.
The impact of automation and AI to jobs especially the elimination of entry level jobs cannot be understated.
There are also long term trends finishing out like the move away from high street and shopping centre to online shopping.

But yeah, go ahead and blame a 1.2% increase in labour costs.

I think many of us are tired at Labours continued attempts to buy votes via welfare.

It has to stop.

Haha yes - if the opinion poll doesn't go the way you want, start undermining the survey!

The public could never actually mean what they say, the question must be wrong. Or the sample flawed. Or just fake news.

Slashing corporation tax would. Obviously.

Its ENI not NI.
Obviously if an employer can get away with 4 employees they won't employ the fifth person they may have before the Budget.

AI hasn't worked its way through yet to many businesses. I don't accept that as the reason to explain the unemployment rise.

You don't seem to understand how tight margins are in an SME. Often business owners go without paying themselves a wage just to ensure their employees are paid.

I’m early retired.
I was a consultant with a portfolio of dozens of businesses (profit and not for profit) with total annual revenues over £30 billion.
The NI increase of 1.2% was peanuts. If you can’t handle such a small change that was completely offset for micro businesses by the doubled employment allowance , you really are in trouble.
Brexit was a much bigger fish to fry with loss of jobs for young people in sectors like hospitality plus the shocking increases to import/export business costs and EU market loss.
The impact of automation and AI to jobs especially the elimination of entry level jobs cannot be understated.
There are also long term trends finishing out like the move away from high street and shopping centre to online shopping.

But yeah, go ahead and blame a 1.2% increase in labour costs.

I don't think we've seen a reliable source - we need to see what questions were asked in survey.

The ISC says 30k fewer private school admissions, but state school admissions have also fallen by about 140,000 since the VAT introduction. Nothing to show those 30k private school places were pupils who went into state schools and even if they did they’re not costing more because state school admissions are falling.

No doubt it’s not yet been proven - how long did it take to ‘prove’ in the Balkans? And still there’s debate over whether Srebrenica was a genocide (guess what Israel’s stance is in that?) I don’t want to wait until it’s proven, let them prove it’s not. We can see with our eyes what’s happening and it’s wrong. For me it matters that we are brave enough to say that. For some clearly they’d rather be quiet in case of opprobrium.

Have you been in a chain restaurant lately, or a supermarket or heard of online shopping? Purchasing and payment done on apps and automated kiosks means massive job reductions.

Plus hospitality and retail were hit hard, there’s not much AI there.

Why doesn’t the government add another 5% on if any increase has no effect?

I’m early retired.
I was a consultant with a portfolio of dozens of businesses (profit and not for profit) with total annual revenues over £30 billion.
The NI increase of 1.2% was peanuts. If you can’t handle such a small change that was completely offset for micro businesses by the doubled employment allowance , you really are in trouble.
Brexit was a much bigger fish to fry with loss of jobs for young people in sectors like hospitality plus the shocking increases to import/export business costs and EU market loss.
The impact of automation and AI to jobs especially the elimination of entry level jobs cannot be understated.
There are also long term trends finishing out like the move away from high street and shopping centre to online shopping.

But yeah, go ahead and blame a 1.2% increase in labour costs.

I don't think anyone can assume to speak for others, the polling speaks for itself. There's no majority support for the cuts being proposed here.

The ones they make, yes. But currently, they are trying to correct over a decade of economic self harm by the tories.

Labour are responsible for poor decisions.

On this do you want to see more tax hikes?

it absolutely does. If the government slashed business rates and Ni tomorrow we would hire about 5 more people and invest in new more modern facilities. The plan is ready to go. We just need to free up the capital. Those people should pay taxes, the business would grow and we’d end up paying more corporation tax. But we can’t so we are holding out for some future time when things get better.

Plus hospitality and retail were hit hard, there’s not much AI there.

I’m early retired.
I was a consultant with a portfolio of dozens of businesses (profit and not for profit) with total annual revenues over £30 billion.
The NI increase of 1.2% was peanuts. If you can’t handle such a small change that was completely offset for micro businesses by the doubled employment allowance , you really are in trouble.
Brexit was a much bigger fish to fry with loss of jobs for young people in sectors like hospitality plus the shocking increases to import/export business costs and EU market loss.
The impact of automation and AI to jobs especially the elimination of entry level jobs cannot be understated.
There are also long term trends finishing out like the move away from high street and shopping centre to online shopping.

But yeah, go ahead and blame a 1.2% increase in labour costs.

100% this.

It is also a little bit suspicious that we place sanctions on Israel and NATs had a technical issue. Maybe a coincidence...myabe not.... but defende needs to also be against cyber attacks too not just standard military responses.

Labour predicted 3,000 would leave. Its 30,000 and rising and that doesnt include those children that would have gone to private school but for the VAT rises.

I think we live in the world of real politic now not virtue signaling. And ethnic cleansing as far as I know has not been proven. Labour's decision was premature and achieved nothing. If they wanted to stop ethnic cleansing why not do something that actually stopped ethnic cleansing?