the challenges faced by small business owners

As Nigel Farage has said, many small business owners now find themselves earning less than their staff, raising a fundamental question: why would anyone take on the risks of starting a business when government policy increasingly favours large corporations over local employers? Since Labour took power in 2024, the burden on small and medium-sized enterprises has intensified, with successive increases to the National Living Wage squeezing already thin margins, while from 6 April 2025 the employer National Insurance Contributions rate rose from 13.8% to 15% and the secondary threshold was cut from £9,100 to £5,000, meaning employers pay tax sooner and on more of every wage packet. When combined with VAT, PAYE and business rates, taxation is now cited by more SMEs as the biggest obstacle to success, overtaking even energy costs. Despite limited and targeted relief, the Autumn 2025 Budget included a revaluation of business rates that will push bills higher for many small firms, particularly on the high street. The hairdressing industry highlights the consequences clearly through the Save Our Salons campaign, which exposes how the current tax system incentivises self-employed chair renting over traditional employment, benefiting the Treasury while undermining established salons, reducing the ability to hire apprentices or offer secure jobs with benefits. Industry bodies, including the British Hair Consortium, warn that without reform this imbalance could lead to a dramatic collapse in employment across the sector by 2030, threatening the future of an industry that cannot be digitised, outsourced or delivered the next day. You cannot order a haircut online, and if we fail to protect hairdressing we will fail every small business that forms the backbone of our local communities and our economy.

FLORENCE NORTH