John McDonnell responds to national insurance changes

John McDonnell MP, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, responding to the Chancellor’s trumpeting of national insurance changes, said:

“These tweaks to national insurance will do little for working people most in need of support in the low-pay economy the Tories have built.

“Wages are still below pre-crisis levels, and rather than tackling this and the crisis of insecure work the Tories are ripping over £2 billion a year out of public services already decimated by ten years of spending cuts.

“We will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with workers to fight to end the scandal of low pay – and call for the real investment in the economy that is so desperately needed.”

Ends

Notes to Editors:

•         The Conservative Party costings document costed this threshold increase for national insurance contributions at £2.17 billion in 2020-2021: see https://assets-global.website-files.com/5da42e2cae7ebd3f8bde353c/5ddaa257967a3b50273283c4_Conservative%202019%20Costings.pdf at p. 6.

•         The IFS has observed that less than 10% of total gains from raising NICs thresholds accrue to the poorest fifth of working households and that there are far better ways to support low-earning families: https://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/14591.