A government minister has defended recent national insurance rises after a long-established bakery chain, co-owned by comedian Romesh Ranganathan, ceased trading. Coughlans Bakery, which had operated for 89 years, announced its closure on Tuesday, attributing the decision to increased business rates and employer national insurance contributions.
Minister's Response to Closure
Commons Leader Alan Campbell addressed the issue on Thursday, saying that the changes were necessary to "spend more and invest in our public services". Mr Ranganathan, renowned for his deadpan stand-up, became a co-owner of the chain, which served communities across south London, Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, earlier this year. Expressing his dismay on Instagram, the comedian said: "Gutted isn’t the word."
Liberal Democrat Criticism
The Commons Leader’s defence came in response to Liberal Democrat frontbencher Bobby Dean, who said his community had been “rocked” by the closure, and blamed government policy for “killing” family-run businesses. The Carshalton and Wallington MP said: “(Coughlans) say that this is so devastating, as March was a fantastic month, as was last year, with growth and the new store openings, but as soon as April’s new government rules kicked in on national insurance wages and rates, it instantly hit the high street.
“This is government policy directly killing long-term run family businesses, and we warned about this before it happened. “When we warned about it, we were told from the benches opposite that we couldn’t fund public services without these rises in business taxes, but let me make it clear: you will no longer receive any tax income from this local business anymore, and I fear that the revenue loss will continue to grow over the course of this year.”
Government Support for Small Businesses
Mr Campbell, in response, said he was “genuinely sorry” to hear that the business had shut. “Small businesses are at the heart of our local communities and economies, and we are committed as a Government to support them in every way that we can, which is why our small business plan will save businesses time and money, boost access to finance, and create new opportunities,” he said. “We’re also supporting businesses through a £4.3 billion business rate package, which will help a large number of businesses.
“But I would also gently remind him that I understand the point he’s making about national insurance, it was done in order to spend more and invest in our public services, and you can’t have it both ways. “Liberal Democrats constantly talk about the need for more spending on all sorts of things, and yet when it comes to a difficult decision about voting for the money, they vote the wrong way.”
