Wes Streeting, a Labour leadership hopeful, has backed calls for a national insurance cut for businesses and for continued North Sea oil and gas drilling. The former health secretary proposed a targeted reduction in employers' national insurance contributions to incentivise hiring, particularly of young people.
Streeting's comments come amid high youth unemployment in Britain, with a report by former cabinet minister Alan Milburn highlighting a lack of hospitality jobs. The UK has the third-highest rate of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment, or training among wealthy European nations.
Pat McFadden, the work and pensions secretary, pushed back against Streeting's proposal. He noted that businesses already avoid employer NI for workers under 21 and argued that any tax change would have costs and consequences.
McFadden also defended the government's record, claiming that increased NI rates have contributed to falling NHS waiting lists, which he described as a labour market measure. The employer NI rate rose from 13.8% to 15% in 2024, with the threshold lowered from £9,100 to £5,000, raising £25bn annually.
On North Sea drilling, Streeting expressed support for granting consent to develop the Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to issue no new fossil fuel licences. Energy secretary Ed Miliband is expected to decide on the fields soon, balancing climate commitments.
Streeting, who has called for Keir Starmer's resignation, is considered a potential leadership candidate, though Andy Burnham is seen as the current frontrunner. Burnham is Labour's candidate in the Makerfield by-election on 18 June.
