Tory rebellion on £240-a-year National Insurance hike for self-employed as MPs plot Budget amendment despite Philip Hammond defending his tax raid
Chancellor insists they will now make a ‘fair contribution’ but he is under pressure from backbenchers to rethink the measure
A TORY rebellion on Philip Hammond’s controversial National Insurance hike has begun as MPs plot a way of blocking his £145million tax raid on the self-employed.
It comes as the Chancellor has spent the morning defending his first Budget after a wave of criticism, insisting it will result in strivers making a "fair contribution" to public services.
But he is coming under pressure from backbench Conservative MPs to rethink the £240-a-year hit on 2.5 million people who work for themselves.
And he has faced an avalanche of criticism from all sides for breaching the party’s manifesto pledge not to increase taxes for five years – a charge the Treasury has denied.
But Mr Hammond insisted Britain's circumstances had "moved on" since the 2015 election and said it was his responsibility to get the UK's economy "match-fit" for Brexit.
But Conservative MP Anne-Marie Trevelyan told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the NICs announcement was "going in the wrong direction".
She said: "We need to halt this particular decision now. I think we need to put this on hold so we can have a proper review and think in a holistic way."
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The Berwick MP suggested an amendment to the finance bill could be tabled by Tory rebels to force Mr Hammond’s hand – as she agreed it was a mistake on a par with George Osborne’s widely-mocked pasty tax in 2012.
Her comments come after Conservative former minister Andrew Murrison expressed concern that electricians, plumbers and plasterers would be among those hit.
Speaking in the House of Commons after the Budget statement he said: "This party on this side always has been, I hope always will be, the party that supports white van man.”
Fellow backbenchers have also attacked the measure, with Tom Tugendhat calling for a "re-think.
He said last night: "I come from a political tradition that believes in small government, that believes in low taxes, that seeks to encourage entrepreneurship and enterprise.
"And though indeed these are very minor figures that we're seeing here - a percentage point here or there, two over two years - they speak to a tone that is not entirely helpful.
“In that I would urge a rethink, because the self-employed, the startup, the people who are taking risks and are carrying it themselves, those are the ones we should encourage."
Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Chancellor should be "very cautious" and urged him to look at the whole issue of NICs and income tax.
He said it was "very hard to see" how this announcement squared with the precise wording of the manifesto, which was "absolutely clear", adding it was "a very short-sighted, pasty-tax style approach for the Treasury to take".
And Nigel Mills, Tory MP for Amber Valley, said: "Any tax rise that discourages any kind of activity is not an attractive one, especially when we are quite reliant on self-employment."
But speaking on ITV1's Good Morning Britain, the Chancellor said: "Britain's circumstances have moved on.
"We are now facing the challenge of leaving the European Union, of building a global Britain to exploit the opportunities in the future that this country can enjoy, and we need to invest to do that.
"I've had to ask the self-employed to pay a little bit more National Insurance in order to make a fair contribution for the services that they receive from Government."
And Mr Hammond said there would be more winners than losers among the self-employed as a result of the overall impact of NIC changes, saying that 60% will end up paying lower contributions.
But his Labour opposition number John McDonnell said the Budget had been a "shocker".
The Shadow chancellor told the BBC: "I'm hoping there will be a number of Conservative MPs and other parties in the House that say to the government 'you've got this wrong, you need to think again'.
"That's why will be voting against this when it comes forward."