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Henry Smith

Henry Smith: Securing a better future

In his article this week, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Henry Smith talks about securing and growing jobs for all.

Published

10 months ago

on

One of the darkest themes of the last few months has been to witness Labour’s attitude towards business. Jeremy Corbyn just sees opportunities to increase taxation, and in Crawley the Labour-run Borough Council seeks to hike neighbourhood parade rents by as much as 30 per cent.

Such an attitude ignores the fact that our businesses are the wealth creators and the employment providers that towns such as ours should be looking for, not turning away.

Since 2010, over 7,600 more jobs have been created in our town. Our economy, employment and earnings continue to grow. Fewer regulations and lower tax burdens under a Conservative Government are what can enable companies to take on more staff.

Indeed, over the last nine and a half years we have seen the number of businesses in Crawley grow by over 1,000. Our town has one of the highest average salaries nationally with people taxed less and wages growing faster than inflation.

The Conservative Government has created 3.7 million jobs including over 466,000 more jobs in the south east of England. We must not let Labour throw all that hard work away.

Next week, our town must decide. A Conservative government led by Boris Johnson that gets Brexit done, and focuses on people’s priorities like creating jobs and backing the NHS and our schools. Or Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minister, and an economy buckling under the strain of soaring borrowing and the chaos of another two referendums.

We know that every Labour government has left office with higher unemployment than when they came in. A Corbyn-led Labour administration would see everyone paying an extra £2,400 a year in tax to fund their reckless spending plans – this is the equivalent of an entire month’s pay for the average worker.

A majority Conservative Government will mean a brighter future. Soon after taking office, Boris Johnson announced an increase in the National Living Wage to two thirds of average earnings, currently forecast at £10.50 an hour – and widening its reach to everyone over 21.

This will mean an average pay rise of £4,000 per year for four million people by 2024.

This is the better future we can secure for our town and our country.

Henry Smith
Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Crawley

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Henry Smith

Henry Smith MP: Kickstarting the recovery

Published

2 weeks ago

on

3rd September 2020

By

As the challenges of COVID-19 continue to be addressed, the scale of the response across the nation needs to have long-lasting effects.

The Kickstart scheme launches this week to widen job opportunities for young people and I urge employers in Crawley to sign up.

Participating firms will be able to offer young people between 16 and 24 years of age who are claiming Universal Credit a six-month work placement that is fully funded by the Government.

The scheme will see Government pay all of the young persons’ age-relevant National Minimum Wage, National Insurance and pension contributions for 25 hours a week, which the employer can top up if they chose to.

Companies will also be paid £1,500 for each young person they take on as part of the initiative, to support training or other associated costs.

Kickstart is a vital part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs and I hope local employers will participate.

Young people are more likely to have been furloughed than the population as a whole, and we cannot allow them to be left behind as a result of the pandemic.

Creating jobs and helping young people develop the skills to access them is essential. Interested employers can find out more information via: www.gov.uk/kickstart

Henry Smith MP
Crawley Constituency

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