0:00
Ministers simply do not understand
0:02
business. Labour promised to be the most
0:05
pro-business government this country has
0:07
ever had. What did they think that
0:09
meant? Really, what did they mean by
0:10
that? Because their taxes and their red
0:12
tape and regulation and arrogance mean
0:15
that I think this is in fact the most
0:16
anti-business government this country
0:19
has ever had, certainly in my lifetime.
0:21
Ministers and Prime Minister himself
0:23
waffle about supporting the sector with
0:25
new rules about pubs being allowed to
0:27
stay open longer and cutting the red
0:28
tape for event licenses. These are
0:30
measures dismissed as an absolute joke
0:33
by landlords. This is no way to run a
0:35
country, and it's no way to treat
0:36
businesses. In fact, it's no way to
0:38
treat people. Nobody in this government
0:40
has ever had to stay up late going
0:42
through the books, worrying about
0:43
payroll, worrying about breaking even.
0:46
This lack of experience leads to a lack
0:48
of empathy, and ultimately it leads to
0:50
bad policy. We saw it in the first
0:52
budget with the hike to employment
0:53
taxes. We saw it with the family farm
0:55
and family business inheritance tax
0:57
changes. We're seeing it with the
0:59
business rates debacle. Ministers, from
1:01
the Prime Minister down, do not
1:03
understand the consequences of their
1:04
decisions. They do not understand the
1:07
reality of their own policies. Whether
1:10
people run pubs, restaurants, hotels,
1:12
farms, small engineering firms, family
1:14
businesses of whatever size and in
1:16
whatever sector, they are the lifeblood
1:18
of our economy, powering and
1:20
underpinning everything we claim to want
1:22
as a country, jobs, growth, and tax
1:24
revenue. Unfortunately, the government
1:26
sees only that last one as a source of
1:28
tax, a way of funding higher welfare
1:30
spending. Unemployment is rising, growth
1:33
is stagnant, confidence is evaporating,
1:36
the tax burden is increasing. It's a
1:38
disgrace, pure and simple, and it gets
1:40
me so angry that if it wasn't quite so
1:43
early in the day, I would head to the
1:44
nearest pub and order a stiff drink.
