The MP for Windsor, Adam Afriyie, spoke up in Parliament to call for further reductions in the jobs tax.

The Chancellor, George Osborne, agreed with Adam’s suggestion, outlining plans to reduce national insurance on apprentices and young people.

As recorded in the House of Commons’ Hansard:

Adam Afriyie (Windsor, Conservative): It seems to me that we would be wise as a nation to reduce taxation on the activities that we wish to encourage. I therefore very much welcome the reduction in employers’ national insurance, which has created jobs in my constituency, and I suspect in every constituency around the country. Does the Chancellor agree that we would do well to push on with these reductions in employers’ national insurance, which, to all intents and purposes, is a tax on jobs that discourages their creation?

George Osborne (The Chancellor of the Exchequer; Conservative): My hon. Friend is absolutely right that national insurance is a tax on jobs-

Edward Balls (Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer; Labour): He is a champion!

George Osborne (The Chancellor of the Exchequer; Conservative): My hon. Friend is a champion of businesses in his constituency. That is one of the reasons unemployment has fallen in Windsor and 2,000 businesses in Windsor are benefiting from our employment allowance. We are going to go on reducing national insurance on employing 21-year-olds and apprentices. The alternative path—the path offered by the Labour party—is to put the jobs tax up. That would increase unemployment and return Britain to the economic mess it was in when Labour was last in charge.

You can watch Adam speak from 18:35 on BBC Parliament at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b050zg8g/house-of-commons-live-treasury-questions