Ditch NI rise says poll as cost of living soars

THE proposed National Insurance increase should be ditched amid huge fears over the soaring cost of living, new polling shows.

More than half (55 per cent) of people support axing the rise, while just 17 per cent oppose scrapping it.

Senior Conservatives have urged ministers and Treasury officials to listen to the public and abandon plans for the 1.25 per cent increase. There are fears the party’s reputation for economic competence is in jeopardy and it risks punishment at the polls.

The rising cost of living is the source of greatest concern for adults (54 per cent), according to research by Redfield &Wilton Strategies.

It is a much greater source of anxiety than the pandemic (14 per cent), the potential Russian invasion of Ukraine (also 14 per cent) or climate change (11 per cent).

Alleged lockdown rule-breaking parties at Downing Street is the top concern for just four per cent.

Former Brexit secretary David Davis said the poll shows “that the harsh truth is the public are wiser than officials at the Treasury”. He

said: “They know the impact on ordinary people, the impact on jobs, the impact on wages, the impact on how much they can spend.

“All of these you would think are critical variables for the economy and ones the Treasury appears to be ignoring – and ignoring at a time when it doesn’t need the money.”

He fears that the Government is in

danger of suffering electoral damage comparable to the aftermath of 1992’s Blackwednesday.

“At the moment, I think people expect us to put taxes up more than anybody else so that’s a very bad reputation for the Tory Party to have. The last time we had that reputation we lost over 100 seats.”

Former Conservative leader Sir

Iain Duncan Smith urged ministers to focus on the concerns of citizens, saying: “They need to listen to what the public is really concerned about, given the terrible increase in the cost of living, mostly driven by the energy price spike.”

And shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “We’re all noticing how much prices are going up – whether that’s school shoes for our kids, the ingredients for our Sunday roast or when we get our energy bills.

“The Government needs to get a grip on this crisis made in Downing Street.”

John Longworth, who chairs the Independent Business Network, said: “The Government must get real if they want to be re-elected: change course on net zero, cut VAT on fuel.”

A Treasury spokesman defended the planned rise, saying: “We’re providing around £21billion this financial year and next to help families with the cost of living, including cutting the Universal Credit taper rate to make sure work pays, freezing alcohol and fuel duties to keep costs down, and helping households with their energy bills through our £9.1billion energy bills rebate.”