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Treasury minister sparks fury by claiming employers are not 'working people' as the row over Labour's tax pledge reignites

Emma Reynolds declined to say whether pie-shop owner Paul Bowen, hit by national insurance rises and minimum wage increases, would count as a working person under Labour's definition.
Emma Reynolds declined to say whether pie-shop owner Paul Bowen, hit by national insurance rises and minimum wage increases, would count as a working person under Labour's definition.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds told GB News on Sunday that employers fall outside Labour's definition of "working people" because "they are companies," reopening the party's protracted argument over what the term means. When host Camilla Tominey pressed her later in the same interview — asking whether having a cleaner on the payroll would strip Reynolds herself of working-person status — Reynolds said it would not.

Reynolds maintained that Labour had honoured its manifesto commitment by leaving income tax, VAT, and employee national insurance untouched — though critics argue the rise in employers' NI contradicts that position.

Chancellor John Healey sought to calm the row, promising his Budget would champion "bloody-minded entrepreneurs" and reduce the burden on businesses.

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