M&S boss attacks recent Budgets

Stuart Machin, chief of Marks and Spencer, has urged chancellor John Healey to reverse Rachel Reeves' tax rises and reverse what he calls disastrous policy decisions affecting business.

“They were a disaster. Britain needed a plan for growth and got a pile of new taxes and regulations instead.”

One hundred fifty million pounds in new costs

Policy changes including a rise in national insurance contributions and changes to business rates have landed M&S with one hundred fifty million pounds of new costs each year.

National insurance threshold cut blamed

Rachel Reeves increased employers' national insurance contributions from thirteen point eight percent to fifteen percent in two thousand twenty-four and reduced the threshold from nine thousand one hundred pounds to five thousand pounds.

Machin calls for threshold reversal

Machin urged Healey to reverse the cut to the threshold where employers start paying national insurance, saying the decision hit shops hard because many jobs are entry-level and part-time.

“It hit shops hard, because so many of our jobs are entry, level and part, time, often just a shift or two a week.”

Deposit scheme and employment law concerns

Machin also called the upcoming deposit return scheme patently ridiculous for adding twenty pence to every bottle or can, and warned changes to employment rights should not ban Saturday jobs.

Treasury says growth is the answer

HM Treasury responded that the chancellor is focused on creating conditions for businesses to invest and expand, backing firms through business rates cuts and a four point three billion pound package.