(2 days, 9 hours ago)
Commons ChamberI agree with what my right hon. Friend says. That characterisation of employers is why Labour gets itself into such problems in the first place. He talks about the issues relating to national insurance and public services. The NHS also has to pay a higher national insurance bill because of the changes that the Labour Government have made, and that has caused all kinds of challenges across the public sector.
My hon. Friend is exactly right. One of the biggest problems when national insurance went up was that places such as hospices, pharmacies and care homes were not excluded. It is one thing to say that we are putting more money in, but all that money and more was taken elsewhere to pay for the staffing. Is that not part of the problem?
It is absolutely part of the problem. Labour did not think that through, and I have an example of that same phenomenon with the hospice in my constituency, as well as with a number of public sector organisations and charities.