The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has inadvertently found itself on the frontline of the blue-on-blue Tory leadership war. After the FSB published opinion polling in the Times last night, showing 76% of the public think small businesses are important to levelling up, Team Rishi waded in to tweet the data with a ‘fact check’ attack on Liz:
🚨Liz Truss's plans will help only the largest businesses. 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭: only the largest 30% of all companies will benefit from her corporation tax plans
— Ready 4 Rishi (@Ready4Rishi) August 10, 2022
Rishi is the only candidate with the plan to support small businesses as he did as Chancellor#Ready4Rishi https://t.co/HG7rhV7Z6t
The only problem is the FSB is having none of it, with External Affairs Chief Craig Beaumont immediately shooting back with a fact check of his own. Even attacking Rishi personally for having “no ‘plan for small businesses”…
🚨𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭-check:
— Craig Beaumont 🇺🇦 (@craigie_b) August 10, 2022
* Liz will reverse Rishi’s jobs tax (Employer NICs hike, saving 50,000 jobs), cut business rates, help the self-employed
* Rishi will hit job creation, but exempts some small biz from his own corp tax rise
That’s no ‘plan for small businesses’ @RishiSunak 1/2 https://t.co/QIy60Vw46M
Awkward. Beaumont added that while the FSB doesn’t “endorse any candidate or party“, only one campaign in this race is currently offering “actual pro-small business policies”. You don’t have to be Sherlock to work this one out…
UPDATE: Beaumont tells Guido: “We need a pro-small-business Prime Minister and he’s just not it, right now.” Ouch.
