John Devereux

Sole traders. Micro businesses with one or two employees. Freelancers. Plumbers. Electricians. Hairdressers. Mechanics. Accountants. Gardeners. Whatever it is, whoever they are. These are the workers that keep the economy going. Not the big global corporates. Politicians, and those devising the rules, simply do not understand how these people live. Nobody ever even talks about the one or two people operations in Westminster. Saturday morning in the bureaucrat’s world? Friday working from home, so nice easy day to finish off the week. Laptop closed by 15.00. Phone off for the weekend, not a care in the world. Life is sweet. Holiday coming up, mortgage comfortable, pension growing nicely. The sole trader? Getting invoices and paperwork sorted at 6am before the children wake up. Chasing up late payments. Weighing up whether to do that last minute emergency call out, or spend time with the kids on a Saturday. Getting the diary sorted for next week. Phone goes and goes all weekend. It is never-ending. It does not stop. It’s two different worlds honestly. The issue is that the latter entirely funds the former, and the former is hellbent on making life as difficult as possible for productive Britain. I want to be really clear about what Restore Britain would do. Two things. Crush parasitic Britain. Unleash productive Britain. First. Scrap IR35. It has created years of confusion, fear and chaos for contractors and small operators. It has pushed countless self-employed people into pointless paperwork and rigid inflexibility. Doesn’t work. It’s a right pain in the arse for millions. Scrap it. Second, we will double the VAT threshold. The current threshold traps thousands of small businesses just as they begin to grow. Many deliberately stop expanding to avoid the enormous administrative burden of VAT and the brutal cost hikes which drive demand away. The evidence of is obvious. Thousands hover just below the threshold, refusing to grow, hire or pay more tax. It is ABSURD. Restore Britain would double the VAT threshold so small businesses can grow without being punished for success. This is absolutely necessary. An important one - we would dramatically simplify the tax system for sole traders and micro-businesses (and everyone else, but that's separate). Instead of forcing small operators through pages of complicated accounting rules designed for large corporations, we will introduce a far simplified tax regime for businesses below a certain size. Less paperwork, fewer forms, clearer rules. More money for them, less for the accountants and parasitic professional class. Sounds like a good deal, doesn’t it? Next. We will end the endless culture of inspections and bureaucratic interference from the bureaucrats. Too many small businesses now live in fear of accidental breaches - whether it’s health and safety nonsense, employment law complexity, ridiculous data laws or constantly changing compliance requirements. The stress is immense. If you are a sole trader or micro-business acting in good faith, the system should support you, not threaten you. Restore Britain will free them from endless regulatory suffocation. The mental health release on that is worth it alone. Means a lot to me, this one. Restore Britain will make it easier for tradespeople to hire apprentices. This is important. One of the biggest problems small businesses face is bringing in the next generation. The current system is too complicated, too expensive and too rigid for small firms. Restore Britain will introduce simple, flexible apprenticeship schemes designed specifically for small businesses and trades. Up next, we will simplify planning and licensing rules. For small builders, tradespeople and contractors - planning restrictions and local bureaucracy can delay work for months and add unnecessary costs. I detest planning departments more than I can describe in language appropriate for a Saturday morning. These jumped-up empire-building little runts running councils across Britain will have their power stripped away from them. We will let people do business, we will let business owners run their businesses without the sneering council worker’s constant box ticking. Not complicated. We will restore respect for the self-employed. Look at how they were treated during lockdown. Like dirt. Entirely abandoned whilst others were paid to do nothing. That must be addressed, and they must be compensated. The excluded must finally be recognised. That wrong must be rectified. Under a Restore Britain Government, their efforts will be appreciated, celebrated and most importantly? Rewarded. This is the key point. Let’s not pretend otherwise. The five golden rules of business. What’s in it for me? We will radically slash tax and raise thresholds. Tax on dividends would be hacked down so that success pays. More work, pays. Effort, pays. If the electrician does that last minute job on a Saturday, it will be worth their time. They will be rewarded, not HMRC. Restore Britain will slash the bureaucracy, simplify the rules, cut the taxes. We will give small businesses the freedom they need to thrive, to support their families and to succeed. Parasitic Britain will end. Sole traders and micro businesses finally have a political party that will fight for them. Restore Britain.

FAIR. PROPORTIONATE. DOABLE. In this video from our ExcludedUK livestream on 24 June 2024, @AndyBurnham said: “I think there are ways we can start to frame financial asks that I think are fair, proportionate and doable.” Those words matter even more today. Andy has been our loudest political champion from the beginning of the ExcludedUK campaign. He has recognised that the exclusion of 3.8 million UK taxpayers from parity of Covid-19 financial support was not simply unfortunate. It was an injustice that must be rectified. He told us: “The public see you and the public support you.” He promised: “We will work with you to make sure that the excluded is recognised as one of the injustices that this country needs to rectify.” He also made clear: “I supported you back in the pandemic, and we support you now. The passage of time doesn’t change that.” Now, as Prime Minister, Andy has the opportunity to work with ExcludedUK and the Gaps in Covid-19 Financial Support APPG to turn those words into action. We are ready to discuss financial asks that are fair, proportionate and achievable. After more than six years, the 3.8 million cannot simply be written off. Businesses, homes, livelihoods and futures were lost. More than 40 members of our community saw no other way out than to take their own lives. Recognition is fair. Accountability is proportionate. Justice is doable. Prime Minister, let us begin that work. Please email Head of ExcludedUK, Jennifer Griffiths, at [email protected] excludeduk.org #ExcludedUK #WeAreNotGoingAway #Relentless #Lab26

Yesterday Chair @MelJStride asked @Jesse_Norman about our report on #GapsInSupport. The minister said that the Government will consider the Committee's recommendations carefully. Find out more here: houseofcommons.shorthandstor… #ExcludedUK #ForgottenLtd #newstarterjustice

It's truly dreadful that people think the pandemic is over...when there are thousands still paying their Bounce Back LOANs...when the other 90% of UK taxpayers were awarded grants that they didn't have to pay back. #ExcludedUK don't have a problem with that, nobody would have survived without them... but why were 10% left out?!? Why was it OK for 1 member of ExcludedUK to take their own life, let alone 40... and they are the ones we have been notified about....there will be thousands more we don't know about... Last Friday another #ExcludedUK member lost their house as they could not keep up with mortgage AND BBL repayments.... how is that even allowed??!!? @MartinSLewis your team told Head of #ExcludedUK, Jennifer Griffiths, that you could not campaign with us any longer as you were concentrating on your own projects... but nothing has changed since you last campaigned with us...in fact, it has got worse... more people have lost homes, businesses, personal possessions, and lives! Please help us... I know you are busy, but despite all his promises, @andyburnham has gone quiet on us! Jennifer is still dealing with attempted suicides and the families of those who have taken their own life as a result of being excluded... it is just not right! Please email Jennifer and work out a way to help us. [email protected] excludeduk.org

Today @RishiSunak must give some hope to 3m frozen out of support. Jobs, homes, businesses and lives are depending on it #ForgottenLtd #DISS @AndyBurnhamGM @susannareid100

🚨EXCLUDEDUK... ON THE MAP!!!🚨 A quick media heads-up for Wednesday 28 October, Budget Day. ExcludedUK has booked a digital video and audio advertising van which will be driving around Parliament Square and Westminster from 9am to 5pm, broadcasting campaign material throughout the day. The van will feature: • video clips of Andy Burnham speaking publicly about ExcludedUK and the injustice faced by those excluded from meaningful Covid-19 financial support • testimony from ExcludedUK members about the continuing financial, personal and mental health consequences of exclusion • ExcludedUK campaign messaging and calls for recognition, accountability and redress Our most prolific campaigner, Tim Pravda, also known as @ExcludedFighter, will be around Parliament Square throughout the day, together with other ExcludedUK members, and will be available to speak to journalists and broadcasters. So, if you or any of your colleagues are in Westminster covering the Budget, please keep an eye out for the van and for Tim and our members. We would be very grateful if you could also flag this with your political, Westminster, economics or newsdesk colleagues. After more than six years, the 3.8 million taxpayers who were excluded from meaningful Covid-19 financial support are still campaigning to be heard. If you would like interviews, background information, member case studies, video footage or briefing material in advance, please contact me. Jennifer Griffiths Head of ExcludedUK Secretariat Secretary, Gaps in Covid-19 Financial Support APPG 📧 [email protected] 🌐 excludeduk.org Dutifully paid in. Deliberately left out. @BBC @BBCNews @BBCBreaking @BBCPolitics @BBCWorld @BBCR1 @BBCRadio2 @BBCRadio3 @BBCr4today @bbc5live @bbclookeast @bbclondonnews @BBCScotland @bbcwalesnews @BBCnireland @ITV @itvnews @itvanglia @itvcentral @itvmeridian @granadatv @itvtynetees @sky @SkyNews @SkyNewsBiz @Channel4 @Channel4News @E4Tweets @More4 @channel5_tv @5_News @GBNEWS @TalkTV @LBC @TimesRadio @talkSPORT @VirginRadioUK @ClassicFM @thisisheart @CapitalOfficial @KissFMUK @magicfm @guardian @thetimes @Telegraph @FT @mailonline @Independent @DailyMirror

📢 #IsItOK to campaign alongside 3.8 million excluded UK taxpayers for over SIX YEARS, promise them justice, then fall silent when you become Prime Minister? @andyburnham, we are still waiting for answers. #IsItOK that another #ExcludedUK member was made homeless last Friday... the fourth house last in the last SIX weeks!!! We thought you were trying to end homelessness?!?!!! For well over six years, Andy Burnham was one of the most vocal and passionate political supporters of #ExcludedUK, campaigning WITH us for the millions of hardworking UK taxpayers who were wholly or partially excluded from meaningful Covid-19 financial support. These included freelancers, the self-employed, small business owners, company directors and thousands of people, including those working in the TV and film industries, many of whom saw their livelihoods disappear overnight. Andy did not simply offer a few words of sympathy. He actively campaigned alongside us, co-hosting several events with Jennifer Griffiths, Head of ExcludedUK, speaking directly to our members, listening to their devastating experiences and repeatedly pledging his support. 🎥 WATCH THE ATTACHED VIDEO In this recording, Andy Burnham promises to pursue financial remedy AND a public apology for those so appallingly let down. He knew the human cost of exclusion. He knew that at least 40 people had taken their own lives, with their deaths reported to ExcludedUK in connection with the devastating consequences of being denied support. He has described the exclusion as "indefensible" and said a solution was "fair, proportionate and doable". Yet since becoming Prime Minister, the man who stood beside us for well over six years appears to have fallen silent. 📩 Our emails and messages to Andy Burnham have gone unanswered. 📩 Our correspondence to Chancellor @JohnHealey_MP has also failed to secure the answers and action we have been seeking. 💔 Families are still grieving. Lives and livelihoods remain shattered. People are still living with the financial and psychological consequences of decisions made more than six years ago. Attemtped suicides are still a regular occurence! Not even the promised apology has materialised. 💥 An apology costs NOTHING! No Treasury funding. No Budget allocation. No complicated financial calculations. An apology is FREE, and that is something we can ALL afford! So, Andy, we ask you: ❓ #IsItOK to promise hope to millions of people and then leave them waiting when you finally have the power to deliver? ❓ #IsItOK to acknowledge the devastating human cost of exclusion but still fail to provide even a public apology? ❓ #IsItOK for those who dutifully paid into the system, but were deliberately left out, to still be fighting for justice more than SIX YEARS later? Andy, you stood with us when you were campaigning. We need you to stand with us now that you are in power. 3.8 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN. We are not going away. #ExcludedUK #IsItOK #TheLastLeg #AndyBurnham #JohnHealey #Channel4 #AdamHills #JoshWiddicombe #AlexBrooker #TVandFilm #Freelancers #SelfEmployed #Covid19 #CovidSupport #ExcludedFighter #WeAreNotGoingAway #Relentless

So devastating that we can still play this video from December 2020 and it STILL be the reality for so many of those excluded from parity of Covid-19 Financial Support. Too many say "it was five years ago, get over it!"... and yet, five years later, the excluded are STILL paying back Bounce Back Loans that 90% of UK taxpayers didn't have to take out. Families and friends are still grieving those who took their own lives as a result of finances being obliterated! If your MP is not on our 'Gaps in Covid-19 Financial Support' APPG then please ask them to join to seek restitution from the government. To register, all they need to do is DM us on here, or email [email protected] PLEASE HELP! Please help us support the excluded UK taxpayers who are still struggling to piece their lives together following the Covid-19 pandemic… Buymeacoffee Donations: buymeacoffee.com/excludeduk Easyfundraising link: bit.ly/4plPqTV JustGiving Donations: bit.ly/4gpBJzp THE LAST GOVERNMENT LEFT 3.8 MILLION WITHOUT PARITY OF COVID-19 FINANCIAL SUPPORT AFTER A SERIES OF BROKEN PROMISES FROM THEN CHANCELLOR RISHI SUNAK…. @Keir_Starmer AND @RachelReevesMP ONCE SUPPORTED #EXCLUDEDUK…. NOW THEY DON’T… WHY? @RachelReevesMP WAS EVEN ON OUR PREVIOUS APPG! PLEASE ASK YOUR MP TO JOIN OUR 'GAPS IN COVID-19 FINANCIAL SUPPORT' APPG. ExcludedUK are Secretariat for this APPG and are registering all Lords and MPs who would like to join. All officer positions have been taken, but ordinary members are welcome. We look forward to you letting us know you would like to be added. You can either DM us on here, or email [email protected] DID YOU GET LITTLE OR NO FINANCIAL SUPPORT DURING COVID? Were you excluded from fair and equal Covid-19 financial support? If so, join some of the other 3.8 million UK taxpayers who were, as we campaign for this scandal to be put right: bit.ly/3UunLTY Dutifully paid in, deliberately left out! Lives & livelihoods ruined! 40+ suicides and hundreds of attempted suicides! Website: excludeduk.org Facebook Group: bit.ly/3UunLTY Sign up to our mailing list: bit.ly/4bdpB0U JustGiving Donations: bit.ly/4gpBJzp Buymeacoffee Donations: buymeacoffee.com/excludeduk Easyfundraising link: bit.ly/4plPqTV There are over 20 categories of exclusions including: ·New starters ·New Businesses ·PAYE freelancers ·Newly self-employed ·Those denied furlough ·Directors paid in Dividends ·Directors paid PAYE Annually ·Made redundant before 19 Mar 2020 ·Directors of Companies not in Profit ·Self-employed with +£50k trading profits ·Businesses ineligible for Business Grants ·Those in maternity/parental/adoption leave ·Those earning less than 50% income from self-employment ·Those whose personal circumstances have affected entitlement to support e.g. pensions, bereavement allowance, carer’s allowance, students, armed forces veterans… and more… ExcludedUK are asking for: (1) An apology from government so this injustice is recognised and assurance that it will never happen again. (2) Parity of support (3) Acknowledgement of loss of earnings/profit and consequential loss. #ExcludedUK #APPGGapsSupport

The 10 month-long exclusion of 3 million people from financial support is a major injustice. Many of them have tragically fallen into deeper and darker debt, despite being promised by the Government that they would not be left behind. The #excluded deserve so much better.

“Unfortunately the chancellor is tin eared, he is not listening, he won’t even commit to meeting us! I’ve no idea what planet @RishiSunak is on!” - What an amazing speech from @TracyBrabin at today’s @bectu @ExcludedUK #PantoParade 🎭 👏🏻 Thank you for supporting freelancers!

🚨Thank you for all of your support over the years Emma, with so many of the #ExcludedUK in financial ruin, and family homes and lives still being lost, can our members in the #SouthShields count on you to attend our vital @APPGGapsSupport EGM with @RosieDuffield1 @MP4Stratford

Despite years of paying taxes, 3 million people have been left with no support from the government since this pandemic began. It is an injustice on an industrial scale. @RishiSunak – do the right thing and give @ExcludedUK the proper support they need. #ParityNotCharity

🗣”[they] may well become a burden on the welfare state, through no fault of their own but because of short-sighted policy making.” @MartinSLewis tells @TherealNihal about workers who have been excluded from financial aid from the government. Listen on @BBCSounds

📢 #IsItOK to campaign alongside 3.8 million excluded UK taxpayers for over SIX YEARS, promise them justice, then fall silent when you become Prime Minister? @andyburnham, we are still waiting for answers. #IsItOK that another #ExcludedUK member was made homeless last Friday... the fourth house last in the last SIX weeks!!! We thought you were trying to end homelessness?!?!!! For well over six years, Andy Burnham was one of the most vocal and passionate political supporters of #ExcludedUK, campaigning WITH us for the millions of hardworking UK taxpayers who were wholly or partially excluded from meaningful Covid-19 financial support. These included freelancers, the self-employed, small business owners, company directors and thousands of people, including those working in the TV and film industries, many of whom saw their livelihoods disappear overnight. Andy did not simply offer a few words of sympathy. He actively campaigned alongside us, co-hosting several events with Jennifer Griffiths, Head of ExcludedUK, speaking directly to our members, listening to their devastating experiences and repeatedly pledging his support. 🎥 WATCH THE ATTACHED VIDEO In this recording, Andy Burnham promises to pursue financial remedy AND a public apology for those so appallingly let down. He knew the human cost of exclusion. He knew that at least 40 people had taken their own lives, with their deaths reported to ExcludedUK in connection with the devastating consequences of being denied support. He has described the exclusion as "indefensible" and said a solution was "fair, proportionate and doable". Yet since becoming Prime Minister, the man who stood beside us for well over six years appears to have fallen silent. 📩 Our emails and messages to Andy Burnham have gone unanswered. 📩 Our correspondence to Chancellor @JohnHealey_MP has also failed to secure the answers and action we have been seeking. 💔 Families are still grieving. Lives and livelihoods remain shattered. People are still living with the financial and psychological consequences of decisions made more than six years ago. Attemtped suicides are still a regular occurence! Not even the promised apology has materialised. 💥 An apology costs NOTHING! No Treasury funding. No Budget allocation. No complicated financial calculations. An apology is FREE, and that is something we can ALL afford! So, Andy, we ask you: ❓ #IsItOK to promise hope to millions of people and then leave them waiting when you finally have the power to deliver? ❓ #IsItOK to acknowledge the devastating human cost of exclusion but still fail to provide even a public apology? ❓ #IsItOK for those who dutifully paid into the system, but were deliberately left out, to still be fighting for justice more than SIX YEARS later? Andy, you stood with us when you were campaigning. We need you to stand with us now that you are in power. 3.8 MILLION PEOPLE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN. We are not going away. #ExcludedUK #IsItOK #TheLastLeg #AndyBurnham #JohnHealey #Channel4 #AdamHills #JoshWiddicombe #AlexBrooker #TVandFilm #Freelancers #SelfEmployed #Covid19 #CovidSupport #ExcludedFighter #WeAreNotGoingAway #Relentless

🚨EXCLUDEDUK... ON THE MAP!!!🚨 A quick media heads-up for Wednesday 28 October, Budget Day. ExcludedUK has booked a digital video and audio advertising van which will be driving around Parliament Square and Westminster from 9am to 5pm, broadcasting campaign material throughout the day. The van will feature: • video clips of Andy Burnham speaking publicly about ExcludedUK and the injustice faced by those excluded from meaningful Covid-19 financial support • testimony from ExcludedUK members about the continuing financial, personal and mental health consequences of exclusion • ExcludedUK campaign messaging and calls for recognition, accountability and redress Our most prolific campaigner, Tim Pravda, also known as @ExcludedFighter, will be around Parliament Square throughout the day, together with other ExcludedUK members, and will be available to speak to journalists and broadcasters. So, if you or any of your colleagues are in Westminster covering the Budget, please keep an eye out for the van and for Tim and our members. We would be very grateful if you could also flag this with your political, Westminster, economics or newsdesk colleagues. After more than six years, the 3.8 million taxpayers who were excluded from meaningful Covid-19 financial support are still campaigning to be heard. If you would like interviews, background information, member case studies, video footage or briefing material in advance, please contact me. Jennifer Griffiths Head of ExcludedUK Secretariat Secretary, Gaps in Covid-19 Financial Support APPG 📧 [email protected] 🌐 excludeduk.org Dutifully paid in. Deliberately left out. @BBC @BBCNews @BBCBreaking @BBCPolitics @BBCWorld @BBCR1 @BBCRadio2 @BBCRadio3 @BBCr4today @bbc5live @bbclookeast @bbclondonnews @BBCScotland @bbcwalesnews @BBCnireland @ITV @itvnews @itvanglia @itvcentral @itvmeridian @granadatv @itvtynetees @sky @SkyNews @SkyNewsBiz @Channel4 @Channel4News @E4Tweets @More4 @channel5_tv @5_News @GBNEWS @TalkTV @LBC @TimesRadio @talkSPORT @VirginRadioUK @ClassicFM @thisisheart @CapitalOfficial @KissFMUK @magicfm @guardian @thetimes @Telegraph @FT @mailonline @Independent @DailyMirror

WORDS MATTER… ACTION MATTERS MORE! On 24 June 2024, during an ExcludedUK livestream, @AndyBurnham spoke clearly about what could still be done for the 3.8 million UK taxpayers excluded from parity of Covid-19 financial support. He said: “I think there are ways we can start to frame financial asks that I think are fair, proportionate and doable.” More than two years later, those words remain just as important. Andy has consistently been one of ExcludedUK’s strongest political supporters. He recognised that what happened to the 3.8 million was not simply an unfortunate consequence of the pandemic response. It was an injustice. He told our community: “The public see you and the public support you.” He also pledged: “We will work with you to make sure that the excluded is recognised as one of the injustices that this country needs to rectify.” And he was unequivocal that time did not diminish that commitment: “I supported you back in the pandemic, and we support you now. The passage of time doesn’t change that.” Today, as Prime Minister, Andy Burnham is in a position to help turn those commitments into meaningful action. #ExcludedUK is ready to work constructively with the Prime Minister and the Gaps in Covid-19 Financial Support APPG to explore financial redress that is fair, proportionate and achievable. Because after more than six years, the consequences cannot simply be forgotten. Businesses were lost... and are still being lost! Homes were lost...and reposessions continue... Livelihoods and futures were destroyed.. yep! Still ongoing! More than 40 members of our community saw no other way out than to take their own lives....and they are only the ones we have been made aware of! The 3.8 million deserve more than acknowledgement of what happened. They deserve recognition, accountability and justice. Recognition is fair. Accountability is proportionate. Justice is doable. Prime Minister, the opportunity is now there to begin that work. Please contact Head of ExcludedUK, Jennifer Griffiths, at [email protected] excludeduk.org #ExcludedUK #WeAreNotGoingAway #Relentless @UKLabour @APPGGapsSupport