Government backtracks on national insurance argument
The UK government, and especially Lord Mandelson, have this weekend backtracked on a number of allegations made against the business community in the UK. Lord Mandelson had been highly critical of many business leaders who signed a letter in support of the Conservative party's intention to reduce the proposed national insurance tax increase. The government appeared to suggest that business leaders had been "duped" by the Conservative party, a suggestion which was not well received by business leaders!
The UK government has now woken up to the fact that it will require the help of business leaders to improve the UK economy and indeed to improve the UK government's finances. As a consequence it is likely that we will see a number of business friendly policies and announcements in the days and weeks to come as Lord Mandelson, Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling attempt to mend bridges between the government and the business arena.
The attack on Tory party proposals to reduce the national insurance tax rise has backfired spectacularly and kept the issue in the headlines longer than it should have been. The government will be hoping this all blows over before the election because there is no doubt that business leaders are currently very supportive of the Conservative party and its policies.
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