Three months ago, fallout from Rachel Reeves’ first budget left UK businesses praying for a miracle to save them from the double-whammy of increases in the National Minimum Wage and employers’ National Insurance (NI).

50,000 firms nearing collapse

And now, just three months after Labour ramped up the cost of doing business for millions of UK companies, a report from leading UK insolvency specialists, Begbies Traynor, finds that almost 50,000 firms are under ‘immense strain’ and nearing collapse.

The economy was in a state when Labour inherited it, no question, but publicly ‘trash-talking’ your own country from the day you get the keys to Number 10 seemed about as clever as pouring sand into your own petrol tank.

Pensioner freeze, pay rises & more tax!

As predicted (by me and many others to be fair) Keir Starmer’s ‘new and improved’ Labour Party were neither new nor improved. First, they froze out the pensioners, then came the U-turn on their election promise not to tax work. In what world does making employers pay higher wages and more tax come close to not taxing work!?

The report also found that the number of firms in ‘critical financial distress’ across all sectors is up 21.4% year on year, with bars and restaurants (up 41.7%) and Travel and Tourism (up 39%) getting battered the hardest, as customers tighten their belts against the rising cost of living.

Drinking the Socialist-Kool-Aid!

I don’t know why anyone, except Reeves, Rayner and Starmer, who’ve clearly been swigging too much of the Socialist Kool-Aid during their 14 years on the opposition benches, think this is a winning strategy.

It’s a real shame that the Government’s top team is so devoid of anyone who has run a successful business. You do have to wonder why they thought choking the hell out of UK PLC was a good strategy to get the economy back in the black?

I really don’t know what else to say; what did they think was going to happen if you force already struggling businesses, to increase what they must charge customers who are already stretched to the limit?

It’s not rocket science

It’s not rocket science to figure out you’re going to send thousands of businesses broke, and the tax-take will be less, not more. It’s hard to believe that this current Labour government is going to wake up and change course, certainly not while they have such a massive majority in The Commons.

I’d advise those who like a tipple to try and forget their troubles with a good pub lunch and a couple of pints, but even that might be an endangered strategy since the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) estimate that 378 pubs will be forced to close this year, with 5,600 jobs lost as a result.