Walk down any high street in our towns and villages, and the signs are clear.

In Farnham, pubs are running on skeleton crews, with landlords covering bar shifts themselves because they can’t afford to replace staff who leave.

In Haslemere, even well-known chain restaurants are reducing opening hours. In Bordon, new businesses trying to establish firm, long-term foundations in the new town centre are being crushed by higher costs, shrinking customer confidence, and the extra burden of rising supplier prices.

Across the villages, farmers and seasonal employers – from the horticulture industry to the bars that give students work over summer and Christmas – are under pressure.

This is not because local people have stopped working hard. It is because Labour’s economic decisions are making it more expensive and more risky to employ people.

The result is fewer jobs, fewer opportunities, and less money circulating in our community.

National figures reflect what we see locally. Unemployment is now at 4.7 per cent – the highest in four years – and payroll numbers have fallen again, with more than 8,000 jobs lost in July alone.

Since Labour’s tax-hiking Budget last autumn, 164,000 people have dropped off payrolls. The number of job vacancies has also dropped by over 44,000 to around 718,000 – the lowest since April 2021.

Employers have responded by cutting bonuses and scaling back annual pay awards, with total pay growth falling from around 5 to 4.6 per cent in just the past year.

Real wage growth is falling, job vacancies are shrinking, and more people are being forced to claim benefits just to get by.

Labour’s increase in Employer National Insurance Contributions – a “Jobs Tax” – has pushed up the cost of taking someone on. New layers of employment regulation have added more risk for small businesses, who are putting hiring plans on hold or cutting back instead.

Hospitality has been one of the worst affected. UKHospitality’s latest figures now show 84,000 jobs in the sector have been lost nationwide since Labour’s changes were introduced.

Many of those roles would have gone to young people starting out in work, those topping up family income, or seasonal staff who help keep businesses running during busy periods.

When those positions disappear, the knock-on effects are felt in every part of the local economy.

Every Labour government has left office with unemployment higher than when it came in.

This one is on track to do the same – only faster. Unless they reverse course, more jobs will be lost, more businesses will close, and the recovery will take years.