Treasury minister sparks fury after insisting employers are 'not working people' because they are 'companies' in Budget tax row

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds, appearing on GB News this morning, argued that employers fall outside the definition of "working people" on the grounds that "they are companies" — a claim that immediately reignited controversy over Labour's election promise to spare working people from tax rises. Host Camilla Tominey pressed Reynolds on whether a private individual who hires a cleaner — as Tominey does herself — could still be classed as a working person, but Reynolds held firm, maintaining that "a difference between employers and employees" exists.

Shadow business minister Bradley Thomas branded the remarks "patronising, out-of-touch, politics of envy" — asking about electricians who take on apprentices and florists who employ weekend staff.

Former minister Helen Whately fumed: 'This attitude is why Labour is killing our economy — they don't understand businesses are built by hard graft.'

Reynolds dodged a direct question about Paul Bowen, a northern pie-shop owner hit by national insurance rises, minimum wage increases and inflation, saying only she would 'love to talk to Paul at some stage.'