A promise by Rishi Sunak to cut income tax by 1p in 2024 will come “too late” for families struggling with the current cost-of-living squeeze, a Conservative MP has warned.
Richard Drax, the Tory MP for South Dorset, welcomed some of the announcements in the chancellor’s spring statement but called on the Treasury to “go further”.
“I welcome the chancellor’s talk of more tax cuts to come, but in my humble opinion, and certainly for my constituents for the reasons I’ve stated, they will come too late,” he said.
Mr Sunak also slashed fuel duty by 5p and raised the threshold at which workers pay national insurance contributions by £3,000.
But Peter Aldous, the Tory MP for Waveney, said Mr Sunak’s failure to provide a real-terms increase to Universal Credit payments would see those “most exposed” to inflationary pressures hit with a further fall in their spending power, “following a decade of real-terms freezes or cuts.”
Income tax will come too late, Tory MP warns
A promise by Rishi Sunak to cut income tax by 1p in 2024 will come “too late” for families struggling with the current cost-of-living squeeze, a Conservative MP has warned.
Richard Drax, the Tory MP for South Dorset, welcomed some of the announcements in the chancellor’s spring statement but called on the Treasury to “go further”.
“I welcome the chancellor’s talk of more tax cuts to come, but in my humble opinion, and certainly for my constituents for the reasons I’ve stated, they will come too late,” he said.
Sunak borrows Sainsbury worker’s hatchback for mini-Budget photo-shoot
The car which Rishi Sunak was pictured filling with petrol to highlight his 5p cut to fuel duty last night did not belong to the chancellor, it has emerged.
Our politics editor Andrew Woodcock reports:
Patel meets G7 leaders
Alongside the photograph she tweeted: “Meeting of G7 Interior Ministers today to discuss our response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – I set out the UK’s humanitarian response and our schemes to welcome Ukrainians to the UK & the various forms of aid we are sending to Ukraine and the region.
“International allies must continue working together to denude (Vladimir) Putin of his ability to wage his barbaric war.
“There must be coordinated and robust enforcement of sanctions and firm action to protect the integrity of international law enforcement tools from Russian abuse.”
The Home Secretary Priti Patel has posted a photograph of herself on Twitter at a meeting with G7 interior ministers to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Are you doing enough for Ukraine, Johnson asks Nato allies
Boris Johnson is understood to have asked allies at the Nato summit to question whether they have done enough to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion.
According to a UK official, the Prime Minister said: “We all want Putin to come to his senses, put his tanks into reverse.
“He’s gonna grind on. Only has forward gears. He’s already crossed the red line into barbarism. The heroism of the Ukrainians has fundamentally changed the geopolitics of Europe…”
He added: “People will ask, did we do enough? I don’t think we can deny them in their moment of agony. We have the means and they have need.”
PM not ‘anti-Russian’, Downing Street says
Downing Street rejected a Kremlin claim that Boris Johnson was “anti-Russian”.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said Mr Johnson was among the “most active” leaders in opposing Vladimir Putin but had no issue with the Russian people.
“The prime minister is among the most active anti-Putin leaders. We have no issue with the Russian people and in fact we have seen many bravely protest – not least Alexei Navalny – against Putin’s regime and call on them to cease this war,” the spokesman said.
“But we are among some of the world leaders that have been the most proactive when it comes to taking steps to both defend Ukraine’s interests and up pressure on Putin to change course.”
The spokesman said there were “very strong defences in this country” in case the UK was targeted by Russia with retaliatory measures.
PM one of ‘most active anti-Putin leaders’, No 10 claims
Downing Street has hit out at suggestions from the Kremlin that Boris Johnson is “anti-Russian”.
Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the British prime minister “the most active participant in the race to be anti-Russian.”
No 10 responded by saying: “The prime minister is one of the most active anti-Putin leaders. We have no issue with the Russian people.”
Here are more details from our political editor Andrew Woodcock:
Government does not rule out further cost-of-living support
Turning back to the cost-of-living crisis, the government has said it could offer more support to households if needed.
The statement follows criticism of Rishi Sunak’s Spring Statement, as the Institute for Fiscal Studies warned that people earning £27,500 a year would still be £360 worse off next financial year.
No 10 said: “We need to keep a close and watchful eye.
“As the chancellor has said before, we are there to support the public when needed, as we have been throughout,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said.
“These are unprecedented times coming after the global pandemic and war in Europe.”
No powers’ to prosecute P&O, government concedes
The government has said it will not take P&O ferries to court, despite its boss admitting that the firm broke the law over its mass sacking of staff.
A senior official at the the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said there are “no powers to injunct” P&O ferries.
Given the UK’s relatively loose redundancy laws, the workers will need to take the firm to an industrial tribunal themselves.
This comes a day after Boris Johnson said P&O “clearly aren’t going to get away with it”.
P&O Ferries intentionally broke law over mass sackings, CEO admits
The chief executive of P&O Ferries has admitted his firm broke the law by sacking 800 employees without consultation.
Peter Hebblethwaite told MPs on Thursday there was “absolutely no doubt” the company should have spoken to unions first.
My colleague Zoe Tidman has the full story:
People will be worse off despite Sunak’s measures, says IFS
The measures set out by chancellor Rishi Sunak will not be enough to stop people becoming worse off, the head of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said.
Speaking the day after the Spring Statement, Paul Johnson said: “It looks like a median earner on around £27,500 a year will be about £360 worse off in the next financial year than in the current year.”
“Someone earning around £40,000 will be getting on for £800 worse off.”
“He had tough decisions to make. Other choices were available,” the IFS boss added.
