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

[Binnyforthewin]

Surely our PM releases that without National Security there is no Social Security? One is entirely dependent on the other.

the vast majority of companies in the Uk are SmE’s not large corps with shareholders creaming off profits. 1.2% on top of the amount they were paying, on top of crazily massive businesses rates is the nail in the coffin to many businesses and that’s before corporation tax comes in if they make any profit at all. I know several owners who barely take a salary as they can’t afford it at the moments they are just trying to the business alive until things get better.

Ha ha that’s not how politics works.

They need to cut the triple lock but there will be outrage.

That post pretty much sums up the lack of understanding the Reeves had. If the Labour had more people who had run business rather than career politicans they would understand the real world impacts more.

Job vacancies have been falling steadily since 2022. NI wasn't raised until 2025.

And? This has completely accelerated

I’m in the coal face of it right now. You don’t have the believe me when I tell you how truely dire things are. That’s your choice but honestly it’s the worst I have ever seen things.

The trouble is they make decisions based on ideology rather than the real world and what is in the national interest. Another example...VAT on private schools. Billed as a money raiser for the state sector when in reality we know it was a decision taken for ideological reasons (although that doesnt apply to Labour MPs who are ideologically able to argue themselves into putting their own kids into private school) it is actually costing the tax payer millions in having to pay for the kids transferring to the state sector. Cause and effect. Ed Milliband. Unable to make a decision in the national interest if theres an ideological element...net zero and now this performative action against an ally. Would we prefer Israel or Gaza to back us up if we needed an ally in a War? Tricky question...

It wasn't really the 1.2% that was the killer it was reducing the earning threshold to £5k that had the bigger impact on NI for most employers.

Do you have figures to back this up? Because the ones I have seen show no acceleration in the decline.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn9nwx090v9o

Nope. The NI changes were actually beneficial for very small businesses as the employment allowance relief was also doubled. Most came out ahead.

The ‘crazily massive business rates’ is throughly average for the G7

I don’t doubt many owners are struggling, but it isn’t due to NI or Corporate tax rates.

So do I

And most I speak to.

So you think paying for defence out of the housing benefit budget is the right thing to do? What about his assessment of the levels of homelessness that wound result?

Yes they lacked the insight.

What they are saying is bollocks about NI when they are handing out annual pay rises that are triple to quadruple the NI increase.

Anyone who thinks that we can stand alone against a concerted attack by Russia using only our own military capacity is deluded. We are a small country. The aim here is to increase spending just enough to fulfil our international obligations so that other countries will stand with us. That’s the deterrent, not our own nuclear subs. Leaving the EU, thereby weakening our ties with our nearest allies, was a spectacular own goal in that front. Trying to maintain a Churchillian illusion of military might at the expense of wreaking the life chances of our population is the wrong approach. And I say that as someone who pays tens of thousands of pounds in tax each year and qualifies for precisely zero handouts.

Who is "they"? The majority of tbe private sector is made up of SMEs.

I'd love to see a venn diagram of posters wanting welfare spending to be drastically slashed and those complaining about all the homeless people cluttering up their town centres.

When over 800k households receive more than £30k in benefits, national security should definitely come at the expense of some social security…

Or AIBU?

nope just complete anecdotal experience. Genuinely , I had to make someone redundant last week and it was awful. 100% down to Ni and our business rates bill going up. Revenue has stagnated the last few years and costs have just gone up. Couldn’t absorb it anymore so merged a few roles and automated where we could.

i am not the only person saying this., in my 30 odd year career this is the worst I have ever felt things have been and no one has any optimism it will get any better until the government slashes taxes and stimulates some growth

I’ve run businesses successfully and have an MBA.
The NI is a political football.
The loss of jobs is due to larger, systemic issues like Brexit and Automation/AI

Id love to see a Venn diagram of people chosing between their kids going to war because some countries assumed we were vulnerable due to our lack of defence capability and housing for a small number of people many of whom aren't legally allowed to be in the country.

Exactly. The posts below are in line with Pat McFadden’s take on Labour.

Admissions data doesn’t seem to back up the claim of kids leaving private schools. OBR estimates the policy will raise 1.5bn a year so even some have moved the cost of a few million is worth it. If some Labour MPs have their kids in private school they’ll be paying VAT.

Should we ignore ethnic cleansing by an ally? I’m not convinced.

I hope you don’t also think that slashing taxes stimulates growth.

Were you running these successful businesses at the time of the ENI increase? How many employees did you have then and now?