Given that Jeremy Corbyn barely seemed to notice Philip Hammond’s Budget blunder, it’s unlikely the Chancellor will be too worried about Labour’s response to the National Insurance rates row. He will be troubled, though, by the rumblings on the backbenches behind him. The prospect of a Tory revolt is now very much on the cards; 18 Conservative MPs – including former leader Iain Duncan Smith and Tory whip Guto Bebb – have publicly spoken out against the policy. Because Tory MPs were voted in on a manifesto pledge not to raise NI contributions – and will inevitably be getting it in the neck from angry constituents over the coming days – this number is likely to rise.
With a wafer-thin working majority of just 17, Philip Hammond and the Government can ill-afford a row. What’s more, because changes to National Insurance contributions cannot form part of the broader Budget bill and must be legislated for separately, the prospect of Tory MPs voting down this policy is even more likely.
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