What exactly are Orpington businesses paying more tax for?

This week, the Chancellor gave a panicked press conference in which she all but confirmed that more tax rises are on the way in this month’s Budget, breaking a promise she made 30 times since the last budget. 

In Orpington, local businesses are telling me that they are being forced to freeze recruitment and expansion plans because of increasing costs. 

The Chancellor claims that she needs higher taxes to pay for the NHS. Yet new ONS figures show NHS productivity is falling.

So I asked her: what exactly are Orpington businesses paying more tax for?

Her answer? Falling waiting lists — but that’s only because junior doctors temporarily lifted their politically motivated strikes after the government threw them a bung. (A backdated 22% rise). That then led to more pay demands and the threat of more strikes. 

If the government wanted to help their trade union allies, they could have done so by tackling soaring welfare costs, but they refuse to act

Why should Orpington’s businesses pay the price for union militancy and government incompetence?