
National insurance hike hits hospitality as 69,000 jobs go
Hospitality industry leaders are now predicting that the jobs bloodbath will continue, with as many as 200,000 likely to lose their livelihoods if the chancellor's increase to employers' national insurance contributions in her budget last October are not reversed.
New figures, sourced from the Office for National Statistics, show that the hospitality sector has lost 69,000 jobs since then. In the same period in the year before, under the last Conservative government, pubs, restaurants and hotels created 18,000 posts.
The job losses are the worst on record outside the first few months of the pandemic.
The statistics, far worse than industry leaders had predicted, come as the chancellor has warned cabinet colleagues that more tax rises are on the way later this year to balance the books following the government's U-turn on welfare reforms.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
9 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Phillipson sparks row over two-child benefit cap
Bridget Phillipson has sparked a fresh Labour row over the two-child benefit cap. The Education Secretary faced a backlash after declaring that the Government's benefits climbdown last week would make it harder to abolish the two-child limit. But Labour MPs who led the welfare revolt and Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir Starmer's predecessor, issued fresh calls on Sunday to abolish the 'cruel and immoral' policy. The backbench rebellion on welfare forced Sir Keir to tear up his plans to reform disability benefits, wiping out an estimated £5 billion in savings. Ms Phillipson insisted there was now less scope to abandon the two-child cap, which restricts child tax credit and Universal Credit to two children in most households. She told Sky's Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: 'It does come at a cost, and that's why, in keeping with our fiscal rules, we do need to make sure that we have a strong foundation for the economy. 'We make sure we get this right. These ultimately will be matters that the Chancellor has to consider right across the board.' Pressed on whether the chances of the cap being lifted were lower because there was now less money, Ms Phillipson said: 'The decisions that have been taken this last week do make future decisions harder. 'But all of that said, we will look at this collectively in terms of all of the ways that we can lift children out of poverty.' Sir Keir endured the biggest rebellion of his premiership to date last Tuesday as 49 Labour MPs voted against his welfare Bill despite a string of major last-minute concessions. Out of those rebels, more than one third have also signalled their opposition to the two-child benefit cap since Labour took power. Mr Corbyn currently sits as an independent MP but last week announced his involvement in a new hard-Left party alongside Zarah Sultana, a fellow independent, which fight Labour nationally. Responding to Ms Phillipson's remarks, Mr Corbyn told The Telegraph: 'The two child benefit cap is cruel and immoral. The government should have scrapped this cap the minute it was elected. 'For it to double-down now one year later, all because it couldn't take enough support away from disabled people, is disgraceful. 'Keeping children in poverty is not a tough choice – it's the wrong choice.' The two Labour backbench MPs who masterminded the welfare rebellion also called on the Prime Minister to change course and scrap the cap. Rachael Maskell, who tabled an amendment backed by dozens of Labour MPs that sought to kill the Bill altogether, said it was 'crucial' that no child was denied opportunity. 'It's got to be an absolute focus of this government to lift as many children out of poverty as possible,' Ms Maskell said. 'Slowing the pace of that ambition is not acceptable and therefore starting by ending the two-child limit, as well as the benefit cap, is really important. 'It's absolutely crucial that the government does not waver on this issue, that it finds the expectation of what a Labour Government should do and finds the resource to be able to deliver that.' Neil Duncan-Jordan, whose open letter denouncing the cuts was signed by 42 Labour MPs back in May, told Sir Keir to make child poverty a key priority during his second year in power. He told The Telegraph: 'Whilst not the only lever to pull, lifting the two-child benefit cap is widely acknowledged as the quickest way to lift the largest number of children out of poverty. 'It doesn't fix the problem, but it is an essential part of what needs to happen if we are serious about tackling child poverty.' Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, added that 'of course' the limit should be scrapped. He said: 'If this Labour Government is to rebuild the country, it must start with the scourge of poverty – in all its forms. There can be no credible definition of success that does not include its eradication as a central goal.' Jon Trickett, another prominent Left-wing Labour MP, added: 'It is wrong to keep children in poverty because we are protecting disability benefits. Dividing the poor against each other whilst protecting wealth is entirely wrong.' John McDonnell, who was Mr Corbyn's shadow chancellor and has also been stripped of the Labour whip, condemned briefings over the weekend which suggested that plans to scrap the cap were 'dead in the water'. 'The idea that scrapping the two-child limit is to be some sort of punishment beating of the PLP for voting against disability benefit cuts is disgusting,' he wrote on X. The Child Poverty Action Group has said the number of children in poverty will jump from 4.5 million currently to 4.8 million by 2029 unless Sir Keir takes action. While the two-child limit applies across the UK, the Scottish government confirmed it will provide funding to essentially scrap the policy north of the border from March 2026.


The Sun
10 minutes ago
- The Sun
Rare Galaxy chocolate bar spotted for just 99p in corner shop with 4,000 locations
SHOPPERS have spotted a rare Galaxy chocolate bar at a popular corner shop chain. The Galaxy Strawberry bar has appeared in a Premier store and it's just 99p. Premier is a corner shop chain with more than 4,000 locations across the UK. Galaxy Strawberry is an import from Dubai and it usually costs £2.99 plus postage if you buy it online from sweet importer A shopper shared their spot on the Facebook group Food Finds UK, saying: "99p galaxy strawberry spotted at our local premier 👀." Other members of the group seemed excited to try the rare sweet treat. One wrote: "I defo need this !" Another said "ooh this looks good !" while a third simply said "I neeeeed". The bar comes in a 36g pack. It's described by CandyMail as "a smooth, velvety milk chocolate bar with a sweet strawberry twist, straight from Dubai!". Other rare Galaxy chocolates Shoppers are often on the look-out for rare versions of their favourite chocolates. Recently they've spotted a new Galaxy bar in Sainsbury's stores. The vegan honeycomb chocolate bar is part of the brand's new vegan range. Galaxy describes it as a "delicious blend of velvety cocoa, rich hazelnut paste and crunchy golden honeycomb pieces". Meanwhile another Galaxy favourite made a surprise comeback after more than a decade off UK shelves. Galaxy Flutes were seen on sale at Farmfoods. The 22.5g crispy wafer roll, packed with smooth vanilla cream and coated in Galaxy's signature silky milk chocolate, is selling for 39p each or 3 for £1. The treats are similar to the Milky Way Crispy Rolls. Plus, Home Bargains shoppers spotted a rare new Galaxy hot chocolate flavour. The Galaxy Pink White Hot White Chocolate is the latest incarnation of the classic Galaxy Ultimate Frothy Hot Chocolate, which is beloved for its silky smooth texture. How to save money on chocolate We all love a bit of chocolate from now and then, but you don't have to break the bank buying your favourite bar. Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how to cut costs... Go own brand - if you're not too fussed about flavour and just want to supplant your chocolate cravings, you'll save by going for the supermarket's own brand bars. Shop around - if you've spotted your favourite variety at the supermarket, make sure you check if it's cheaper elsewhere. Websites like let you compare prices on products across all the major chains to see if you're getting the best deal. Look out for yellow stickers - supermarket staff put yellow, and sometimes orange and red, stickers on to products to show they've been reduced. They usually do this if the product is coming to the end of its best-before date or the packaging is slightly damaged. Buy bigger bars - most of the time, but not always, chocolate is cheaper per 100g the larger the bar. So if you've got the appetite, and you were going to buy a hefty amount of chocolate anyway, you might as well go bigger.


The Guardian
31 minutes ago
- The Guardian
One year of Labour - Politics Weekly live at Crossed Wires festival
One year on from Keir Starmer's election victory and Labour are well behind Reform in the polls, while the government is already having to bend to the will of its backbenchers. So how can Starmer recover? Kiran Stacey talks to Jonathan Ashworth, the chief executive of Labour Together and former MP for Leicester South, and Marie Tidball, the Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, about the party's first year in government, live at the Crossed Wires podcast festival in Sheffield