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Rachel Reeves said in her Budget speech that becoming Britain’s first female chancellor showed young women that there should be no limit to their ambitions.
So his critics say it is a bitter irony that his £25bn tax raid on National Insurance – and in particular the reduction of the threshold at which the tax comes into force – hits working women the hardest.
Among those in the line of fire are hair salons, a service Reeves took full advantage of before the Budget when he dyed his hair red before returning to a brown shade, closer to his original colour.
Industry groups say part-time workers in the sector, where nine in ten are women, will be “the first people to be made redundant” as companies grapple with higher wage costs.
Budget cuts: Chancellor Rachel Reeves dyed her hair red ahead of the budget before returning to a brown shade, closer to her original color
“Approximately 90 per cent of our industry is female and 65 per cent work part-time,” said Millie Kendall, director of the British Beauty Council.
Baroness Altmann, Pensions Minister under David Cameron, said: “It is women who will be disproportionately affected by these changes.” It is really disconcerting that this has not been sufficiently taken into account.’
Sarah Willingham, boss of pub chain Nightcap and former Dragon’s Den investor, said: “If you employ a lot of people who work part-time, for example mothers, then it will be much more expensive to hire these people.”
“This budget is disproportionately directed at the sectors that are hiring these women.”
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