More support for Tory NI plans
By politics.co.uk staff
The Conservative election campaign gained momentum today when another 30 businesses backed the party’s plans over national insurance (NI) tax rises.
The new company chief executives and chairmen now bring the number of business leaders supporting the policy to 68. They include the bosses of Corus, Easyjet, Travelodge and House of Fraser.
The new supporters came just hours after Gordon Brown said, for the first time, that he believed business leaders supporting the Tory policy had been deceived.
“I think they have been deceived because the big issue at the moment is can we sustain the recovery,” he told GMTV.
“Britain is on the road to recovery. Don’t put that at risk. The Conservative’s policy would take £6 billion out of the economy. That is a huge sum of money to take out of the economy.”
Mr Cameron seized on those comments during today’s PMQs, the last before the end of the parliament.
“Does the prime minister know more about job creation than business leaders?” he asked.
“This government would wreck the recovery.”
Earlier shadow chancellor George Osborne criticised Mr Brown’s remarks, claiming he had “declared war on British business”.
“This is a highly significant moment which proves that Gordon Brown is on the wrong side of British business and working people who know that Labour’s jobs tax will put the recovery at risk,” he said.
