![\"Chancellor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/\/86da15b8-9770-4a61-b7b1-e901ee6a3710.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Rachel Reeves, right, visits Jeavons Toffee in Port Glasgow to celebrate Small Business Saturday<\/p>\n
KIRSTY O\u2019CONNOR \/ TREASURY<\/p>\n
Yesterday was Small Business Saturday, an annual event to celebrate the contribution of small firms to the economy, society and communities. Nowhere is that contribution more visible than on Britain\u2019s high streets. Though there are plenty of big names on them, it is the independent shops, pubs and restaurants that are their lifeblood.<\/p>\n
Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, put her weight behind Small Business Saturday<\/a>, praising \u201cthese incredible entrepreneurs\u201d who run small firms, which she called \u201cthe backbone of our economy\u201d. It is government policy, though, that often makes life unbearable for small firms and condemns our high streets to further decline.<\/p>\n The chancellor\u2019s budget last year was a dagger to the heart of hospitality and retail firms, which were acutely vulnerable to the increase in employer\u2019s national insurance contributions Reeves introduced. Not only did the employer NI rate rise in April this year, from 13.8 to 15 per cent, but the threshold at which it begins to be paid was reduced from \u00a39,100 to \u00a35,000. This was a guided missile aimed at these sectors, which employ many \u00adlower-paid and part-time workers.<\/p>\n Still reeling from those changes, which have already led to 100,000 job losses in hospitality alone, businesses hoped for better things in last month\u2019s budget. For a brief moment, as the chancellor made encouraging noises about relief from business rates in her speech, it seemed as if their wishes had been granted.<\/p>\n