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In his first speech since becoming shadow chancellor, Andrew Griffith pledged to replace the IR35 rules if the Conservatives return to power, citing them as detrimental to self-employed individuals and small businesses. Griffith announced a taskforce aimed at reducing the £25 billion annual burden of tax compliance on small businesses, noting that business owners spend 44 hours annually on tax paperwork. He also urged his Labour counterpart to avoid proposing further tax hikes in the upcoming autumn Budget.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Andrew Griffith, the shadow chancellor, announced on BBC Breakfast that the Conservatives plan to replace tax rules for self-employed individuals which have "badly let them down." This includes IR35 regulations designed to prevent tax avoidance by reclassifying workers as contractors. Griffith made this announcement ahead of his first speech since being appointed in late August, criticizing the current system's impact on freelancers and small business owners. He stated that these rules make taxes more difficult and costly for self-employed people, hindering their ability to work independently. The shadow chancellor warned that fears over tax increases are pushing major taxpayers to leave the country, potentially costing hundreds of millions in tax revenue.
Written for “UK Tax Rules Controversy” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it -0.40, but every quote it verified points right, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 15849: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-17
The Conservatives will replace a set of tax rules for self-employed people which have “badly” let them down, shadow chancellor Andrew Griffith has announced.
asserted
Griffith → replace → them
Mr Griffith made the announcement in his first speech since he was appointed as John Healey’s opposite number in the Conservative reshuffle at the end of August.
asserted
he → make → August
Rules designed to prevent tax avoidance by “disguising” workers as self-employed contractors, known as IR35, will be replaced by the Conservatives if they return to government, the shadow chancellor said.
asserted
chancellor → design → government
Speaking at a college in north London, he said: “For the self-employed, many of whom will have started out in colleges such as this, there is this special torture of making tax digital.
asserted
tax → speak → this
Making tax difficult, as it’s often known.
asserted
it → make → ?
“Instead of getting on with the job, they’re forced to spend time and money being tracked and traced by HMRC, filling four extra reports a year before they’ve even started their tax return.
asserted
they → get → return
“Then there’s IR35, a regime which crushed the dreams of so many self-employed people to be able to work for themselves and regulate their own affairs.
asserted
which → ’ → affairs
And yet I know that many felt badly let down by IR35 policies.”
asserted
many → know → policies
He added: “When the Conservative Party returns to government, I want to be a chancellor for small businesses and the self-employed, that is why I’m here.
asserted
I → add → businesses
“What will that look like?
asserted
that → look → What
Well, I’m committing today that the next Conservative government will replace IR35, not reform it, not review it, but replace it with a new system that respects the right of the self-employed to choose their status and only prevents actual abuse.”
asserted
that → commit → abuse
Mr Griffith said he wanted to cut the amount of tax paperwork small businesses have to fill in.
asserted
businesses → say → paperwork
He has commissioned a taskforce to investigate how to reform the tax compliance system, with a view to reduce the burden faced by small businesses.
asserted
He → commission → businesses
Small businesses face a combined cost of £25 billion a year because of tax compliance, and business owners spend 44 hours a year on tax paperwork, the Federation of Small Businesses has previously estimated.
asserted
Federation → face → Businesses
Elsewhere in his speech, Mr Griffith urged his Government counterpart Mr Healey to rule out tax rises at the autumn Budget.
asserted
Griffith → urge → Budget
The Chancellor and Andy Burnham have both begun to adopt a sober tone about the state of the public finances ahead of the fiscal event on October 28.
asserted
Chancellor → begin → October
Speaking on BBC Breakfast ahead of the speech, Mr Griffith said: “This is not a moment to put up taxes, we’ve had two budgets that have put up taxes to the highest ever recorded level, let’s just take that off the table.”
Taxes and the “fear of taxes” are driving “really big taxpayers to leave our country for overseas, taking hundreds of millions of pounds of tax revenues that will pay for public services”, he also warned.
asserted
he → speak → services
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