Camilla Tominey has confronted the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones over Labour's controversial increase to employers' National Insurance contributions.
During a heated exchange, Tominey challenged the Government's decision to proceed with the tax hike despite economic pressures on UK businesses.
The row came as the rate of employer National Insurance contributions today increased by 1.2 percentage points, rising from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent.
Additionally, the earnings threshold at which employers start making these payments has been significantly lowered from £9,100 to £5,000.
Camilla told the MP that "businesses are on their knees"
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Camilla fumed at the Labour MP: "So, if the world has changed, then surely it's a good idea to scrap the increase to employers' National Insurance.
"We've got businesses on their knees. We've got Richard Walker, who was literally a poster boy for Labour's election campaign.
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"He's the CEO of Iceland, saying that basically you're robbing businesses blind. We're not a piggy bank for Labour. He says we've got the growth forecast down.
"We've now been hit by tariffs. We've got the car industry on its knees, and yet still you're taxing businesses."
Jones replied: "So, the Prime Minister is going to say more this coming week about what further support we have for businesses.
"But look, as we've talked about on your show before, I understand that the employer National Insurance contribution changes, which are for bigger businesses.
"You'll remember we've discussed this about 50 per cent of businesses in the UK will either pay the same or less than they did before.
"But for the other 49 per cent, I recognise they would rather not pay those additional contributions. But what is that doing?
"It helped us get a grip on the public finances, which were in a mess that we inherited from the Conservatives, and it's now starting to pay dividends.
"We've seen National Health Service waiting lists grow month after month. For the last five years, we've been able to roll out support for parents who need to get to work.
Starmer acknowledged the cost of living has gone up
KEIR STARMER"And ultimately, this is all about trying to get people better supported, trained, and able to get to work, so they can support businesses alongside our broader range of support."
Sir Keir Starmer acknowledged that the cost-of-living crisis continues to affect many Britons.
"I think for most people, they would say the cost-of-living crisis is ongoing, and they feel the pressure financially," the Prime Minister told Sky News.
He also pointed to the national living wage increase as a positive step, noting it would provide an average of £1,400 more annually for millions of workers.
The start of April has also seen increases in council tax and energy bills for households across the UK.
