With two weeks to go until the Budget, Keir Starmer hasn’t ruled out increasing national insurance on employers. That’s prompted pushback from business groups, who have warned that raising the payroll tax would hurt economic activity, with a particular impact on the retail and hospitality sectors.

The chancellor was speaking at the government's International Investment Summit, where deals worth £63bn were hailed.

For example, employers could restrict wage rises, meaning employees would pay less on their individual National Insurance contributions and income tax. If businesses decided to absorb the extra cost, their profits might be lower, and therefore, the amount they pay in corporation tax could be less.

Rachel Reeves will announce Labour’s first Budget in 15 years later this month, leading one of the most highly-anticipated fiscal events in over a decade. As the chancellor looks to fill the £22bn “black hole” in public spending she announced in late July,

The Chancellor told ministers on Monday that plans to fill a £22 billion black hole would be enough only to ‘keep public services standing still’.