Tories accuse Labour's 'vindictive policies' for driving Poundland to the ...

Labour’s tax policies have come under renewed attack after the financial crisis engulfing Poundland, with Conservatives accusing ministers of driving up the cost of running British businesses as the discount retailer fights to avoid collapse.

The chain, which operates 600 stores across the country, has filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators after a proposed takeover fell through, putting up to 12,000 jobs at risk just weeks before Christmas.

The move gives the business temporary protection from creditors while it continues efforts to find a buyer.

Poundland shops remain open and are currently trading.

In a heated exchange in the House of Commons, Conservative shadow minister Bradley Thomas said the retailer’s predicament reflected the mounting pressure on companies already struggling with higher employment costs, including the increase in employers’ National Insurance contributions introduced by Rachel Reeves .

“For thousands of Poundland workers, the question today is simple: will I still have a job?” he said.

“Another well-known British brand being in trouble seems less like a surprise and more like an inevitability.”

Thomas accused Labour of refusing to acknowledge the impact of its policies on businesses, arguing that ministers were instead competing with Reform UK over proposals for state intervention.

“Rather than admitting their own vindictive policies have driven the cost of doing business to an unsustainable breaking point, the Government is instead locked in a desperate squabble with Reform over who can intervene the most to engineer a state- rescue,” he said.

Reform has called for a rescue package to protect jobs, but Thomas argued that a taxpayer-funded bailout would be a “failed strategy that offers nothing but false promises to workers and consumers alike”.

The intervention adds to mounting political pressure over Poundland’s future. The retailer’s difficulties have prompted scrutiny of its ownership and the failed sale process, as well as concern the potential consequences for workers, suppliers and high streets.

Labour minister Kate Dearden pushed back against the Conservative attack, accusing the opposition of focusing on political point-scoring rather than the livelihoods at stake.

“I’m quite disappointed at the tone,” she said.

“That’s your answer to 12,000 people whose jobs are at risk in the run-up to Christmas?”

Dearden, who is due to meet Poundland executives, said the Government was “not interfering” in the commercial process but would not “sit by and do nothing”.

The crisis has exposed the difficult balance facing ministers as the Government is under pressure to protect jobs and retail communities, but direct intervention in a private business raises questions the use of public money and the precedent it could set.

Poundland has not yet entered liquidation. Its future will depend on whether a rescue can be secured or whether administrators are forced to pursue a sale of its stores and other assets. For thousands of employees, the outcome could determine whether they keep their jobs through the crucial Christmas trading period.