I'm not an IT contractor, but I do work in IT.

All I can say is, I hope the government will be happy when there will be no such thing as a flexible workforce.

Sure, some of these people can earn a lot of money, but it's not all a bed of roses. They take the risk that they will be out of work for an indeterminate length of time, and they have to fund their own training and pension. And neither is cheap.

The way the government (HMRC in particular) has constantly moved the goalposts on IR35 (and section 669) is underhand and downright dishonest. Changing interpretation of law is unforgiveable.

If this were benefit claimants having the rules changed on them and backdated, the do-gooders and scroungers would be rioting.

In fact Mr. Brown, why don't you just save us all the hassle of putting up with you for the next 2 years. Just fuck off to Barbados with your index-linked guaranteed pension and paid-for-life personal protection, and give us all peace, will you?