Rebecca Smith

Rebecca Smith

Conservative — South West Devon

Speaking in the House of Commons on 11 November 2026

Debate

Employers

Contribution

The Government are quick to lecture Conservative Members about how to care for the most vulnerable, but at the very moment that Ministers say they want more people getting into work—as we have heard time and again this afternoon—they have increased the cost of employment. We all know that work is the best form of welfare, and Labour’s job tax is shooting the Government in the foot. Time and again, local businesses tell me that they can no longer afford to take on apprenticeships. The double whammy of higher employer national insurance contributions and the increase to the minimum wage has simply become too much to bear.

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