Corbyn aims for small firm vote with late pay pledge

Mr Corbyn will declare late payment a “national scandal” and point to credit agency reports suggesting BT Group. Vodafone and Marks & Spencer are among the worst offenders.

Labour has produced figures suggesting small firms in Yorkshire write off more than £400m in bad debts every year.

Last year, Mr Corbyn offered business a “new deal”, asking companies to pay more tax to fund a National Education Service.

But today, he will pledge not to raise corporation tax for the smallest firms.

The Labour leader will also promise big companies awarded government contracts will have to pay their suppliers within 30 days.

He will say: “Cash is king for any business, and big companies are managing their cash by borrowing – interest free - from their suppliers.

“Some of the biggest names in business are holding cash piles that don’t actually belong to them. It’s a national scandal. And it’s stopping businesses from growing and causing thousands to go bust every year. It kills jobs and holds back economic growth.”

Mr Corbyn will also defend Labour against Theresa May’s repeated suggestion that he has an irresponsible attitude to public spending, insisting there is a “world of difference” between borrowing to invest and borrowing to meet day to day costs.

He will say: “The risk of bankruptcy comes not when you borrow to invest in projects that will deliver growth but when you give tax breaks to big companies and the wealthy when you don’t have enough money to run public services.”

Conservative MP Amanda Milling, a member of the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee, said: “Despite what Labour are saying today, all that Jeremy Corbyn can offer small businesses across Britain are higher corporation tax, an increased deficit and more economic instability.”