Duckbird Fella 🇬🇧 🇺🇦

When I first raised Poundland last week, I was told by Westminster talking heads and the Tories that it was certainly “kaput” and the 12,000 jobs must all inevitably go. Some leaned in, arguing the “creative destruction” would be good. Others made a stupid straw man argument that I was proposing to nationalise it. As if you can’t even question bosses when so much is at stake. They showed scant interest in the workers, suppliers or frankly the taxpayer. My point was, and remains, why should a business be put into administration when there appears to be multiple offers to buy it as a going concern on the table? That doesn’t seem to be in the best interest of the taxpayer, the workers or the suppliers. The taxpayer alone stands to lose hundreds of millions if this business needlessly goes under with unpaid taxes and benefits. And since I made this argument, we’ve learnt of more potential offers. There has been another in the last 24 hours. As of today, there appear to be at least three bidders - maybe four. I can’t opine on their credibility, but it doesn’t suggest Poundland is “kaput”. Gordon Brothers haven’t responded to my letter. They need to account for their actions. I’m pleased my intervention has promoted others to enter the fray, in government and in parliament. A government that cares about working people asks searching questions in these situations. It doesn’t throw workers to the wolves. That’s not anti-business, contrary to what some out of touch ideologues say. You can bet they would take a different view if it was a different type of business to Poundland. The employees of firms like this are to them, as a former Prime Minister once said to me when I was arguing over a similar point, “just fungible low wage workers”. Reform UK is the party of working people. We’ll unashamedly stand up for them. To defend free markets, you sometimes have to expose their excesses. Let’s hope raising this can save as many jobs as possible at Poundland this Christmas.