Pastry couple attacks the chancellor’s right hand

The treats on sale may be delicate and sweet, but one of Rachel Reeves’ henchmen faced a bitter tirade from the owners of a Darlington bakery when he tried to justify Labour’s huge tax rises.

Jane and Frederic Robineau told Treasury Secretary James Murray that small business owners were “crying at their kitchen table” trying to cope with additional taxes and minimum wage increases. Murray, one of the Chancellor’s deputies, had arrived hoping to cover up the Government’s plan to make business rates “fairer”.

The visit took place on Thursday at Robineau Cafe and Patisserie in the county town of Durham, where the Treasury has a northern branch. It was the day Keir Starmer unveiled a government plan, called the Plan for Change.

But any hopes that Murray would have an easy ride in a PR stunt were dashed by Jane Robineau, who said: “As soon as Labor came in, our sales started falling.”

“In January there will be a flood of small businesses closing their doors and causing layoffs.”

“They are going to have less VAT, less corporate taxes and, in turn, they will pay more unemployment benefits to families, to fathers and mothers who can no longer work.”

Murray attempted to defend the Government, saying: “The reason we made difficult decisions in the first budget was to wipe the slate clean on what we inherited.”

Jane Robineau snapped, “Please stop.” The couple told him they could not afford “sophisticated accountants” or move their headquarters to low-tax countries such as the Republic of Ireland to reduce bills. From April next year, employer National Insurance contributions will have to be paid when staff earn more than £5,000 a year instead of the previous £9,100. At the same time, the minimum wage is rising by 6.7 per cent, almost three times the rate of inflation, and business rates relief is being cut.

The bakery is currently enjoying a full business rate reduction, meaning it will have to pay more from April.

French-born Frederic Robineau explained how the company, which has 14 employees including the couple, faces a bill of £26,000 a year from increases in national insurance and the national minimum wage alone.

“To pay for that, we would have to sell 25,000 more eclairs,” he said. ‘The obvious thing is to increase prices, but we have already increased them by 5 percent at the beginning of the year and 5 percent in September.

‘Our costs have skyrocketed. Our clients are not willing to pay up to a certain point.

He added that the company already had much higher bills, after a 200 percent increase in electricity and a 117 percent increase in the wholesale price of chocolate.

—You say you have made difficult decisions. “We think you’ve outsourced the difficult decisions to us,” he told Murray. “For us it’s a big lump sum.” Frederic Robineau, 49, has run a bakery with his wife for 22 years and a coffee shop for 12 years. Speaking after a half-hour conversation with the Minister, the Robineaus, who recently launched a delivery service to boost sales, were not convinced their message would reach Whitehall.

Jane Robineau, 52, said: “He’s a typical politician.” They need to consider the reality of what they are doing. We have our feet on the ground but they need to really listen to us. “They could have come and sat down and talked to the companies before making these decisions.”

Her husband found Murray’s answers “all very worded”, adding: “You’d think Labor, especially, would do everything they could to encourage employment instead of what they’ve done.” It’s disconcerting. Hopefully we have made our point clear so you will remember your visit here.

The government promises a “fairer” system

A “fairer” long-term business rates system will see warehouses run by online giants such as Amazon pay more, with reduced bills for traditional retailers, the Government has promised.

Although traders face a greater burden over the 12 months from April when the current business rates relief, introduced during the pandemic, is reduced to 75 per cent from 40 per cent, Murray said the plan was to help the High Street. in the coming years.

‘We are introducing a permanent tax cut for retailers, hospitality and leisure businesses on the High Street, for properties with a rateable value of less than £500,000. “Those businesses form the backbone of our high streets,” he said. ‘Obviously the tax system means we have to establish how to do it sustainably; that’s why we are introducing a higher rate for large properties with a rateable value of £500,000 or more, including distribution warehouses run by online giants.’