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      Nigel Farage accused of ‘persistent’ racial abuse by ex-schoolmate who rejects claims it was ‘banter’

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      Nigel Farage has been accused of “persistent” racial abuse by a school contemporary who rejects the Reform UK leader’s claims it was “banter”.Peter Ettedgui, whose Jewish grandparents escaped Nazi Germany, has alleged Mr Farage growled “Hitler was right”, hissed “gas them” and told him “to the gas chambers” when the pair attended Dulwich College in the late 1970s.He is among more than a dozen former pupils of the south London school who have accused Mr Farage of making antisemitic and racist remarks in claims originally reported in The Guardian.The Reform UK leader appeared to leave open the possibility he may have made racist remarks without “intent” during his first interview since the claims were published, telling ITV on Monday: “I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way.” He also admitted to engaging in “banter in a playground”.But in a prepared statement given on Tuesday, Mr Farage “categorically” denied he had ever made such comments and suggested the claims were politically motivated.Mr Ettedgui, a Bafta-winning film director, has now told The Times it is “no surprise” that the Reform leader has denied the allegations.Farage ‘categorically’ denies he had ever made such racist comments More

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      How the Budget will affect you: Winners and losers from Rachel Reeves’ tax rises and new spending

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      An extraordinary Budget day saw the details of Rachel Reeves’ new policies published too early, before she unveiled a swathe of £26bn tax rises and a raft of changes. So, from ISA limits to freezing income tax thresholds, how do the main changes around personal finances affect you – and who were the winners and losers from the big decisions?The Independent takes a look:Pensioners We expected a cut to the cash ISA and it duly arrived. A maximum of £12,000 will be able to be put into the tax-free savings accounts, down from £20,000. The remaining £8,000, the chancellor said, is to be reserved for investing products like stocks and shares ISAs.However, there’s an exception within the change. Over 65s will be able to still save the full £20,000 in cash if they wish.This is an important win, as investing is generally more suited for those with longer timeframes, and older people are generally advised to consider de-risking their wealth, which cash savings allow them to do.Ms Reeves announced an extension to the temporary 5p fuel duty cut until September next year. A fuel duty freeze is a positive for everyone who drives petrol cars, naturally.However, as Creditspring finance expert Tamsin Powell points out, it’s not just drivers who benefit here – it’s all consumers, due to cost increases typically being passed on in things we buy.“Rising fuel costs don’t just affect drivers, they also push up the price of goods and services, from food deliveries to public transport,” she said. “A rise would have particularly hurt those in rural areas or people who rely on cars to commute.“At a time when many are still struggling with high energy bills and stagnant wages, keeping fuel duty low is one of the simplest ways to prevent additional financial strain.”Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTGet a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTImportantly, then, this fuel duty freeze should contribute to overall lower inflation across 2026 and beyond.Some families The abolition of the two-child benefit cap will help more than half a million families, according to the OBR, to the tune of an average £5,310.The measure, to ease child poverty, will be warmly welcomed by Labour MPs but will cost £3 billion a year by 2029/30. Basic-rate taxpayersThe National Living Wage has gone up to £12.71 for those aged 21 and over, meaning a full time worker would benefit in gross earnings by £900 annually.Similarly, the National Minimum Wage increase for 18-20 year olds to £10.85 means a full-time worker would earn £1,500 more across a year.Clutching at straws here perhaps, but there had been talk of changes to income tax rates – instead they stay the same.That’s a boost to those who might have feared a lower take-home pay. But it will hit some people harder (more on that later).Another potential additional win for basic-rate taxpayers comes in the form of changes to salary sacrifice rules. Contributions above an annual £2,000 threshold will no longer be exempt from national insurance from April 2029.But those paying 5 per cent of a £40,000 salary into a pension on salary sacrifice will not cross the forthcoming £2,000 threshold at which point National Insurance payments would come into play, so there would be no immediate loss there.Middle earnersIncome tax bands are to be frozen through to 2030-31, meaning anyone on a salary of £45,000 now and getting a 4 per cent raise – that’s lower than this year’s salary growth rate, remember – across the next three years would be dragged into the threshold and become a higher-rate taxpayer, while doing the same job.The move, one of Ms Reeves’ most controversial, is expected to drag close to one million people into the higher rate band by the end of that period.Ms Reeves acknowledged the freeze in tax thresholds would hit “working people” – the group Labour had promised to protect – but she was “asking everyone to make a contribution”.Cash saversThere’s a possible hit at both ends of the scales here: old and young, small amounts and large.( More

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      Budget 2025: Renters braced for price hikes after Rachel Reeves hits landlords with tax increase

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      Kemi Badenoch has warned Rachel Reeves her move to hike tax on landlords will drive rental increases, with tenants already facing record highs across Britain.Ms Reeves delivered her Budget in the Commons on Wednesday, with the chancellor unveiling £26bn in tax rises and leaving £22bn in fiscal headroom as she set out plans to plug the gap in the public finances.The tax increases, which come on top of the £40bn of rises announced last year, will be delivered through a freeze on personal tax thresholds and a series of smaller measures. It brings the tax take to an all-time high of 38 per cent of GDP in 2030–31.Among the announcements was a two percentage point rise in tax rates on property, savings and dividend income from April 2027, meaning landlords will face higher tax on their rental income.Kemi Badenoch warns Rachel Reeves her move to hike tax on landlord will only result in rents increasing More

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      ‘A grotesque indignity to women’: Rachel Reeves scraps dehumanising rape clause

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      Rachel Reeves hit out at the “grotesque” rape clause tied to the two-child cap policy during her Budget speech.Speaking to the Commons on Wednesday (26 November), the Chancellor slammed the policy, which means a parent or carer has to prove a child was conceived non-consensually to receive a benefit.“I will not tolerate the grotesque indignity to women of the rape clause any longer. It is dehumanising. It is cruel,” she said.She said she would remove the two-child benefit cap from April, a move that will increase the benefits for 560,000 families by an average of £5,310, the OBR has calculated. More

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      Budget 2025: 1.7 million workers to pay higher income tax rates due to Reeves’s ‘stealth tax’

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      Rachel Reeves has announced an extension to the freeze on income tax thresholds at today’s Budget, meaning more earners will be soon be made to pay extra tax by “stealth”.Originally set to be frozen until 2028, the chancellor has opted to extend the freeze for three more years, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) fiscal outlook has revealed.The tax-free personal allowance was first frozen at £12,570 by the previous Conservative government from 2022. Freezing tax thresholds can create what economists call “fiscal drag” – more people are pulled into higher tax brackets as average earnings increase, but the thresholds stay the same.Both the personal allowance and National Insurance contribution threshold are frozen and will now remain so until 2030/31. The measure will raise £8bn for the treasury in 2029/30, the OBR says.Here we tell you all you need to know about the changes:How will the extension affect me?More workers will begin paying higher rates of tax than they otherwise would have following the change. It will mean 780,000 more basic-rate, 920,000 more higher-rate, and 4,000 more additional-rate taxpayers by 2029/30 than was forecasted by the OBR in March, the spending watchdog finds.Basic-rate employees will pay £140 in extra tax each year from April 2028. However, one million-plus earners whose income is above £125,140 – and so already pay the top rate of income tax – will not be affected.What is income tax?Income tax is a tax paid on income, though not all types of income can be taxed. How much income tax a person pays is based on how much they earn above their personal allowance and how much of their income falls within each tax band.The standard personal allowance has been £12,570 since 2021. This means that earners do not pay tax on the first £12,570 of their earnings in a financial year. The rate of tax then increases depending on how much they earn.What are the thresholds and income tax bands?The income tax bands More

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      Budget 2025 live: Rachel Reeves announces £26bn plan for income tax, pensions and ISA cuts after OBR leak

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      Reeves to ensure ‘wealthiest contribute most’ in tax reformsRachel Reeves has confirmed a freeze in income tax thresholds will be extended as part of a package of £26bn tax hikes, as she also scrapped the two-child benefit cap.Salary sacrifices into pensions above £2,000 will be taxed while the annual cash ISA allowance will be capped at £12,000, the chancellor also revealed in her eagerly-awaited Budget speech.The tax hikes come as Ms Reeves battles a downgrade in forecast economic growth, delivered in a report by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published by mistake before the speech.Ms Reeves told the Commons: “I am asking everyone to make a contribution.”Other measures announced include drivers of battery electric cars facing a 3p per mile tax from April 2028 and a high-value council tax surcharge on properties worth more than £2 million.The two-child benefit cap being removed at an estimated cost of £3 billion by 2029/30.Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the package of measures were a “smorgasbord of misery”. She added: “Labour are hiking taxes to pay for welfare. This is a Budget for Benefits Street, paid for by working people.” Shelter: Budget ‘cold comfort’ for families on brink of losing homesHomelessness charity Shelter is one of a number of organisations reacting to the chancellor’s Budget todya.Sarah Elliott, chief executive of Shelter, said the Budget is “cold comfort” to families on the brink of losing their homes.“The Chancellor raised the scandal of children in damaging temporary accommodation, but the failure to unfreeze local housing allowance rates will condemn thousands to another grim winter without a secure home,” she said.“Even more people will find it impossible to either avoid or escape homelessness in the months ahead unless the government throws them a lifeline.“Housing benefit is meant to help struggling families afford a roof over their heads, but it’s too far out of sync with the real cost of renting. For the government’s upcoming homelessness strategy to help children out of temporary accommodation, it must do the right thing and unfreeze local housing allowance.” ( More

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      From mansion tax to cash ISA changes: Key announcements in Reeves’ Budget

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      After months of speculation and briefings, Rachel Reeves has unveiled £26bn worth of tax rises in her much-anticipated Budget. But in an unprecedented leak just minutes before the chancellor got to her feet, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) published its response to the statement, leaking her entire plan before she even had a chance to unveil it.The tax hikes, which will leave her with £22bn in fiscal headroom, come on top of the £40bn of tax rises unveiled last year and are set to be delivered by freezing personal tax thresholds and a host of smaller measures. It brings the tax take to an all-time high of 38 per cent of GDP in 2030-31. Here are the key takeaways from the chancellor’s long-awaited – but much-trailed – budget. Economic growth The OBR has predicted that economic growth will be weaker than expected from 2026 to the end of the current Labour government, despite having increased its forecast for economic growth this year from 1 per cent to 1.5 per cent. In 2026, growth has been downgraded from 1.9 per cent to 1.4 per cent; in 2027 from 1.8 per cent to 1.5 per cent; in 2028 from 1.7 per cent to 1.5 per cent and in 2029 from 1.8 per cent to 1.5 per cent. The news will come as a blow to the Labour government, which has put economic growth at the heart of its mission in office. A freeze on income tax thresholds More than 1.7 million people face paying more income tax as she froze thresholds until 2030-31, meaning people will be dragged into paying for the first time or shifted into higher bands as earnings increase.The OBR said the freeze would result in 780,000 more people paying the basic rate, 920,000 more the higher rate and 4,000 more additional-rate income tax payers in 2029/30. The body also estimated this will raise around £7.6bn by 2029/30.Ms Reeves acknowledged the freeze in tax thresholds would hit “working people” – the group Labour had promised to protect – but she was “asking everyone to make a contribution”.Pension tax raid Pension contributions made under salary sacrifice schemes of more than £2,000 per year will now be hit with national insurance contributions from 2029, for both employers and employees, the chancellor announced. Rachel Reeves is unveiling her Budget in the Commons More

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      Budget 2025: Two-child benefit cap scrapped – here’s what that will mean for parents

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      Rachel Reeves has announced an end to the two-child benefit cap at today’s Budget, following months of intense pressure from backbenchers, campaign groups and political opponents.The move will increase the benefits for 560,000 families by an average of £5,310, the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) fiscal outlook has calculated.Set to come into effect from April 2026, the government estimates that the change will reduce the number of children living in poverty by 450,000 by 2029/30. The government estimates that the change will reduce the number of children living in poverty by 450,000 by 2029/30 More