‘Looming tax raid’ for middle class workers
“Middle class workers will face higher taxes later this year, a Cabinet minister has suggested. Heidi Alexander, the Transport Secretary, said the Government had promised not to increase taxes for “people on modest incomes”, and that Labour would base its policy on the “principle of fairness”. Ministers have already hinted that Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, is considering wealth taxes in her autumn Budget to fill a black hole worth tens of billions. On Sunday, a Treasury spokesman said that the Government was committed to “keeping taxes for working people as low as possible”. – Daily Telegraph
- Cabinet minister refuses to rule out wealth taxes in budget – The Times
- Middle classes will bear the brunt of new Reeves tax raid, Labour minister hints – Daily Mail
- Labour MPs tell Reeves: Don’t rely so much on OBR forecasts – The Times
- Bank of England could cut rates if jobs market slows down – The Times
- Reeves to hail ‘financial stability’ in Mansion House speech – FT
- Chancellor to announce £500m investment in youth services projects – Guardian
- Jones on his £500m plan to fight child poverty – Guardian
- Rayner’s employment law forcing ‘stealth tax’ on workers – Daily Telegraph
- HMRC staff lose £2m of taxpayer-funded laptops and mobile phones – Daily Telegraph
- Britain’s biggest pub chains warn Reeves over £1.7bn tax raid – Daily Telegraph
- Wealthy turn to life insurance to soften inheritance tax rules – FT
- US recession risk soars as Trump tariffs hammer households – Daily Telegraph
Comment
- Britain looks like Greece just before the debt crisis – Matthew Lynn, Daily Telegraph
- Is it any wonder wealthy Brits are leaving the UK? – Harry Cole, The Sun
>Today:
- Columnists: David Gauke: We are in a precarious economic position, and the few politicians who recognise it seem unable to tackle it
- Local Government: Emma Best: If people don’t trust you to report their missed bin collection, they aren’t going to trust you to run the economy.
Nurses fuel fears of strikes after denouncing ‘derisory’ pay offer
“Nurses have warned that they will not tolerate doctors getting a bigger pay rise, as ministers seek to avoid pay “contagion” spreading across the health service and spurring on strikes. Wes Streeting, the health secretary, will meet senior leaders from the British Medical Association (BMA) this week, and he is expected to affirm that a bigger pay rise is not on offer. He is willing, however, to work with the union to improve working conditions for resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors. The move is an attempt to avoid what government insiders call pay “contag¬ion” spreading across other public sector professions.” – The Times
UK is No 1 target for Russian cyber attacks since Trump’s election
“Britain has become the new “No 1 target” for Russian cyber attacks and espionage as President Putin tries to avoid offending his US counterpart during talks over the war in Ukraine. Government sources say there has been a surge in the number of Russian “hybrid attacks” on Britain since January, which includes cyber attacks and attempts to sabotage key infrastructure. A senior government official said Trump’s warmer posture towards Putin compared with the previous US administration has led to a surge in attacks on British instead of American targets. “It’s been really evident from Russia’s recent propaganda that we’re target No 1,” the senior government official said.” – The Times
Miliband to warn MPs who reject net zero policies they are betraying future generations
“Ed Miliband is to explicitly call out politicians who reject net zero policies for betraying future generations in an unprecedented update to parliament about the state of the climate crisis, which he is calling “an exercise in radical truth-telling”. With Reform UK proposing to scrap all net zero measures and even questioning the science behind climate change, and the Conservatives ditching environmental targets, Miliband hopes to regain the initiative with a stark warning to MPs. In what is planned to be an annual event, the energy security and net zero secretary will make a “state of the climate” address to the Commons setting out the findings of a new Met Office-led report that says the UK is already facing extreme weather and its effects.” – Guardian
Comment
- We need net zero, but at what cost? – Simon Jenkins, Guardian
Hillsborough Law held up by Treasury resistance to funding legal aid
“Sir Keir Starmer’s Hillsborough Law has been held up over resistance from the Treasury to funding extra legal aid as fears rise about Rachel Reeves’s mounting fiscal black hole. The prime minister held meetings last week aimed at ending the impasse, although they ended without a breakthrough. The row now threatens to drag on and overshadow Labour’s annual conference, due to be held this autumn in Liverpool, given anger from victims’ families over the slow progress. Senior Labour figures fear the prospect of protests inside the conference centre over the delay, but stress that a draft bill should be ready well in advance.” – The Times
Labour’s ‘digital dashboard’ mission tracker falls flat
“Labour’s plans for a public “dashboard” tracking progress on its policy promises have come unstuck after disclosures from Downing Street appeared to show that no work on the project has been completed. The digital platform on the government website was intended to show performance against Sir Keir Starmer’s manifesto pledges and other targets and “missions” such as on NHS waiting lists and living standards. The aim was to boost “trust and transparency” in government after a rocky start and to demonstrate progress before the next election, sources said in November. However, a disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act has revealed that, seven months after the suggested launch date, no apparent progress has been made on the project.” – The Times
Skilled work visas for diversity and inclusion experts
“Diversity and inclusion experts can come to the UK on skilled work visas, The Telegraph can reveal. The Home Office has also safeguarded visa application routes for the vocations of poet and blogger on a list of protected occupations. Labour has made tackling migration one of its key targets, with a crackdown on work visas announced earlier this year after net migration neared one million. Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, vowed to ensure that the immigration system was “linked to skills and training”. But critics have said that ministers are protecting the wrong professions instead of focusing on importing workers who will contribute to the ailing economy.” – Daily Telegraph
- Rochdale grooming gang rapist ‘may have fled UK’ – Daily Telegraph
- How the debate about Islam in Britain is playing out in planning rows over mosques – Daily Telegraph
No 10 warned against gagging officials from speaking in public
“Sir Keir Starmer is facing growing demands to ditch a new government edict that bans senior health officials, military leaders and even the head of the civil service from speaking openly in public. In a letter in today’s Times the leaders of more than a dozen think tanks, including the Royal Society, the Nuffield Trust and the Institute for Government, warned the prime minister that the new rule was having a “chilling effect on public discussion” with some events already being cancelled. In private, several former cabinet secretaries are understood to have made their concerns clear to Downing Street.” – The Times
- MPs slam ‘disrespectful’ obstruction by chair of financial ombudsman – FT
Farage beats Starmer in every respect except one, poll finds
“Voters believe Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, is better than Sir Keir Starmer in almost every respect but is less honest than him, according to a poll. Mr Farage is seen as being more in touch with ordinary people, paying greater attention to detail and being a stronger leader than the Prime Minister. A new survey by Ipsos asked respondents whether they felt certain positive characteristics applied to Sir Keir, Mr Farage or Kemi Badenoch, the Tory leader. The Reform leader came out on top in every question, apart from when voters had to say which of the leaders they believed was an “honest person”. – Daily Telegraph
- Farage beats Starmer hands down with voters but one key factor is his achilles heel – Daily Express
- Reform’s ‘Doge’ unit battles councils for sensitive information – FT
Comment
- An institutional intifada is coming to crush a Reform government – Paul Goodman, Daily Telegraph
- Labour’s shameful electoral manipulations have doomed the capital – Editorial, Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday:
Other political news
- Severn Trent boss paid £3.2m despite rise in sewage spills – Daily Telegraph
- ‘Cascade of failures’ led to Trump shooting, report finds – Daily Telegraph
- Trump’s second state visit to UK is confirmed by King – The Times
- Obituary: Lord Blair, Met commissioner who was forced to resign after a string of gaffes – Daily Telegraph
News in Brief
- Reform is right to reject Truss – Nigel Jones, The Spectator
- Britain’s benefits system is unfair for all involved – John Penrose, CapX
- A day out with Corbyn’s new party – Morgan Jones, New Statesman
- Is Obama plotting a comeback? – Fred Bauer, UnHerd
- American politics was violent before Trump. But he has made it far worse – Sasha Mudd, Prospect
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