Craftsmen Hammer Labour over crippling Budget
Check out the article in the daily mail featuring our very own Amanda Coffman alongside our copper hide hammers. The piece explores the impact of the upcoming National Insurance (NI) contribution hike – set to rise from 13.8% to 15% next April on British manufacturers, particularly toolmakers who are preserving the legacy of British craftsmanship and are proud to still be Made in Britain.
Read more about this crucial issue here: Keir Starmer brags that his dad was a toolmaker – so why is he taxing us out of existence? Craftsmen like PM’s father hammer Labour over crippling Budget
Amanda Coffman, Commercial Manager of the Thor Hammer Company in Shirley, West Midlands, shares her concerns: “The increase harms prospects not just for ourselves, but the firms we work with, and the whole British economy.”
Amanda Coffman, commercial manager of the Thor Hammer Company in Shirley, West Midlands, worries that the NI increase will hamper her firm’s ability to invest in new machinery and its workforce.
The increase harms prospects not just for ourselves, but the firms we work with, and also the whole British economy,’ she says.
Her 101-year-old, family-owned business relies on exports for about half of its trade – with the US its biggest market.
It employs three dozen staff to handmake top quality hammers, mallets and mauls for more than 50 countries. She says: ‘Foreign firms appreciate the quality of our tools but we need the Government to fight our corner because lower labour costs abroad mean we fight on an uneven playing field.
‘Our relationship with America will be especially important and Labour does us no favours with its recent criticism of Donald Trump and sending its staff members to campaign against him.
‘The Labour Government does not realise trade agreements are vital for business. If it lets us down, we face a desperately uncertain future.’
Ms Coffman adds that a typical toolmaker earns about £28,000 a year. Tax expert Salter says that based on this figure, Thor Hammer will be £14,869 a year out of pocket due to Reeves’ NI contribution rise.
The secret of the company’s success goes back to the Second World War when the RAF and Army used its tools to make and repair aircraft and tanks. This gave it an international reputation.