Doing the media rounds after her first Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: ‘It will mean that businesses will have to absorb some of this through profits and it is likely to mean that wage increases might be slightly less than they otherwise would have been.’

The decision to increase NI on employers not employees, reflected Labour’s manifesto commitment, on Channel 4 News Reeves stressed. ‘The alternative was increasing income tax and national insurance directly on working people.’

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