CITY traders have given their backing to a Conservative campaign against Government plans to increase National Insurance rates.

The Conservative's Swansea West candidate Rene Kinzett has been asking city business bosses for their views on the planned rises.

Tory leader David Cameron has said it is the NI rise, not Tory plans to make £6 billion of "efficiency savings" which threaten the recovery.

Councillor Kinzett said: "This has come about because there has been a lot of local interest in the rise in National Insurance contributions being brought in by the Government, which is essentially a tax on jobs.

"Large numbers of national companies — all the big retailers — say they don't want this tax on jobs.

"But it is not just big business, it is also our home-grown industries.

"The vast majority of people are employed in smaller and medium- size enterprises.

"It really does effect the local economy."

While the number of large companies that have signed the Tories' national protest against the NI rise has risen above 100, Councillor Kinzett has been visiting local businesses in Swansea to ask them to support his petition against the rises.

He said the reaction he had received had been "fantastic", adding that businesses including the Kardomah cafe, Upland Diner, butcher Lee Vaughan and Coakley's fishmonger had given their support to his campaign.

"They are all telling me the tax on jobs will effect local companies," he said. "People want to employ people."

Councillor Kinzett said a Conservative government would take action on the issue of National Insurance. He added: "We will reverse the NI increase.

"Also, there is a pledge that for new set-up companies, we will have a zero rate for the first 10 people employed in the first two years."

alex.brown@swwmedia. co.uk