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Labour to force vote on business rates cut as figures show 800,000 jobs at risk

LABOUR was set to force a vote in the Commons today on cutting business rates after the party’s research showed that hundreds of thousands jobs are at risk.

It said that a reduction is needed to ease the impact of worker shortages and supply chain issues, which it said have left 332,000 businesses employing 800,000 people in danger of collapse within the next three months.

MPs were set to consider the non-binding opposition day motion after the Morning Star went to press.

Before the debate, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said that action was needed to protect high street businesses which “do so much to enrich our lives and our communities.”

Labour wants ministers to freeze rates until the next revaluation — currently set for 2023 — and increase the threshold for small business rate relief from £15,000 to £25,000 before scrapping the levy entirely in the long-term.

Welcoming the motion, Usdaw general secretary Paddy Lillis slammed the government’s “dither and delay” on the issue.

The retail union’s leader reiterated calls for ministers to involve retailers and unions in an urgent recovery plan for the high street after the Covid-19 pandemic and the explosion in online shopping.

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