Labour's complacency is costing Britain its jobs and its confidence

On Tuesday, I met some of the UK's biggest retailers to hear directly from the businesses that keep Britain's high streets alive. Their message was clear: the last Budget drove up costs, choked investment and put jobs at risk.

Those warnings have now been borne out by the latest labour market statistics. Unemployment has risen to 5% - the highest level since the pandemic. Behind that number are families who've lost the security of a pay packet, young people shut out of opportunity, and employers forced to cut back.

It is a sobering reminder that when government gets the fundamentals wrong, it is ordinary working people who pay the price.

After almost 18 months in office, Labour's complacency is costing Britain its jobs and its confidence.

The number of people on company payrolls has fallen by 180,000 over the past year.

Wage growth is slowing. Vacancies have stalled. And yet the Government has no credible plan to turn things around.

Instead of backing enterprise, Labour has piled on higher taxes and more red tape.

Before the election, Rachel Reeves said she'd run the most "pro-business Treasury".

She promised not to raise National Insurance. But within months, she broke that promise - hitting employers with a £25billion jobs tax, new regulations, and now the threat of more to come in the Budget.

Be in no doubt, these unemployment figures are a direct consequence of Labour's economically illiterate decision to increase employers' National Insurance.

Raising the cost of hiring has two obvious results: inflation and higher unemployment - especially in sectors such as hospitality, leisure and retail, where every pound matters. When you tax jobs, you destroy them.

And that is exactly what we are seeing today.

Whenever I meet retailers or those in leisure and hospitality, they all tell me the same thing: that rising employment costs and mounting uncertainty are forcing them to pause hiring and investment.

These are the businesses that keep our communities thriving and our high streets open. They don't ask for favours - they ask for a fair chance to grow, to invest, and to offer opportunity to others.

Instead, Labour has chosen to tax work, pile on bureaucracy, and sap business confidence to record lows.

That approach isn't pro-worker - it's anti-job. When business costs rise, it's workers who suffer through lost hours, lost opportunities and, ultimately, lost jobs.

The Conservative approach is different: we back the job creators and reward work.

Unemployment at a post-pandemic high isn't inevitable - it's the result of bad decisions.

Britain has immense potential, powered by hard-working people and world-class businesses. The next Conservative government will restore confidence, get Britain working again, and put opportunity back at the heart of our economy.