Dear Mr Cameron

The NAMB represents craft bakers’ businesses in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands and, on their behalf, I am completely appalled at the information in today’s news.

Was it on Tuesday, Mr Prime Minister, that you stood before the CBI to encourage businesses (large and small) to lead the country out of its economic turmoil? Then yesterday, your colleague, the Pensions Minister, announced a new employer’s pension contribution, staged from 2012 of 1% to 3% from 2017.

What a contradiction over a 24-hour period! Surely this has to be a massive disincentive for our members to increase full-time employees. In fact, I see this as an increase of NI contributions of 1%-plus, that you and your colleagues so rightly pilloried the last Labour Government over.

All these ideas may seem right in Westminster circles, but are clearly unaffordable for small businesses being squeezed from all angles. Bakers cannot increase prices at the drop of a hat to maintain their margins and the result will be more redundancies.

You have time for a rethink please consult associations like mine, where you could find alternative suggestions from the people who voted you into office.