The Newshound

Chancellor John Healey slaps down his Treasury deputy for saying employers are 'not working people' amid the Budget tax row

John Healey, UK Defence Secretary, who defended the Budget as a "breathing space" and said he had protected income earned through dividends reinvested into business.
John Healey, UK Defence Secretary, who defended the Budget as a "breathing space" and said he had protected income earned through dividends reinvested into business.

Emma Reynolds, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, ignited the controversy on Sunday when she told GB News "I don't think employers are working people, they are companies." After Tory MP Esther McVey pressed the matter in Parliament on Tuesday, Chancellor John Healey publicly contradicted her, declaring "Of course they are." The retreat intensifies scrutiny of Labour's pre-election promise to leave working people's taxes untouched, a pledge that now sits awkwardly alongside the party's £25 billion national insurance raid on employers.

Reynolds faced sharp questioning over whether Labour had honoured its manifesto commitments, given tax rises hitting landlords, savers and employers.

Healey described his Budget as a 'breathing space' package and claimed 70,000 high street businesses had been removed from business rates entirely.

Critics argue the Budget rests on a 'fundamental deceit' — that Healey governs on Starmer's borrowed mandate, not a fresh start.

MoreDaily Mail NewsChancellor slaps down his Treasury minister who claimed employers are 'not working people' - as John Healey insists his Budget offers 'breathing space' for firmsCity A.M.Healey corrects Treasury colleague as he confirms employers are ‘working people’The SunEmployers ARE ‘working people’, insists John Healey after backlash at treasury minister’s commentsThe HeraldWhy John Healey’s Budget is built on a fundamental deceit
Read today's full feed at The Newshound →