UK Politics

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseA prominent Labour donor has told wealthy Britons threatening to leave the country over potential tax hikes to “f*** off,” claiming they contribute little to the UK if they are only here for low taxes.Dale Vince, the green energy tycoon who has previously donated £5 million to Labour, has dismissed arguments that higher taxes will harm UK entrepreneurship, describing this view as “profoundly stupid.” Instead, Mr Vince suggests Britain would be better off without those who are prepared to leave if, as expected, Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves raises taxes in the upcoming Budget.“If people only live here because they pay less tax, they should f— off,” said Mr Vince, the Telegraph reported. “This is a brilliant country. There’s no way people won’t live here because of a fairer tax system.”The outspoken comments come as the Chancellor gears up for an autumn statement that’s expected to include a raft of tax increases aimed at filling what Reeves has called a £40 billion deficit in the economy.Speculation suggests that higher capital gains tax and inheritance tax reform are among the options under consideration.Britain’s top 100 taxpayers alone contributed £3.9 billion in capital gains and income tax in 2022-23.But research revealed last week indicates that over 6,000 millionaires are expected to leave the UK for the EU by year’s end in anticipation of looming tax changes.Among those threatening to move is Charlie Mullins, founder of Pimlico Plumbers, who put his £12 million London penthouse on the market and discussed moving abroad.Mr Vince, founder of the pioneering green energy firm Ecotricity, has also turned his ire on ‘Nimbyism’—in particular, those opposing the government’s net-zero drive by protesting against new infrastructure like electricity pylons and overhead cables.“Countryside dwellers need to accept that this is a contribution to our national economy,” he said. “Some aren’t used to it.”Worth around £100 million, Mr Vince has come a long way from his humble beginnings, dropping out of school at 15, spending a decade travelling in a converted ambulance, and ultimately setting up Ecotricity in 1995 with a windmill to power telephones at Glastonbury.Beyond Ecotricity, Mr Vince also founded lab-grown diamond company Skydiamond and runs Forest Green Rovers, a vegan football club, continuing to stake his claim as one of Britain’s wealthiest green entrepreneurs. More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseDefiant Kemi Badenoch has vowed she will not give up her hard-hitting style, saying: “This is what always happens to strong women. If you don’t play ball, then they will come after you.”The favourite to become Tory leader next month was responding to claims by Tory critics that she had been “too abrasive” and Dr Who actor David Tennant, who said he wished she would “shut up”.In a candid interview with Independent TV, she said: “People know that I’m pretty tough. I’m not scared. I will always do the right thing, and I won’t be quiet when it is time to speak up.”The former business secretary was clearly hurt by one jibe by a Tory MP saying she should spend more time being a mother, retorting: “All I want to do is spend time with my children.”But she also said she was “flattered” by comparisons with another outspoken female Tory leader, Margaret Thatcher – adding there were “similitaries” between them.Kemi Badenoch and Margaret Thatcher More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseCommonwealth leaders have defied the prime minister to agree the “time has come” to discuss reparations for the slave trade. A row over the issue erupted earlier this week as Keir Starmer arrived at a major two-day summit in Samoa. The UK has failed to keep language on reparations out of a joint statement signed at the end of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM), despite Sir Keir’s call for the group to look to the future and not the past.However, the prime minister insisted there had been no discussions about money at the event. And he tried to downplay the prominence of the issue, saying talks about climate resilience had instead been the “absolute priority” on Saturday.Sir Keir Starmer had been told that he had to come to the table to discuss the ‘ill effects’ of slavery (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseKeir Starmer has denied misleading the public over tax rises in the Budget after he suggested “working people” did not make money from property or shares. The prime minister also rejected claims he had waged a “war on middle Britain”.Labour made manifesto pledges to not hike taxes on what it described as “working people,” explicitly ruling out increases to VAT, national insurance, and income tax. But the chancellor Rachel Reeves is now expected to increase national insurance for employers, rather than employees, a move Labour insiders believe does not break any pledge.Sir Keir’s comments on working people have also fuelled fears of other tax hikes, even though Downing Street later rowed back saying those with small amounts of savings in stocks and shares still counted as “working people” and that the Labour leader had meant someone who primarily get their income from assets.Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaking at a press conference during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa (Stefan Rousseau/PA) More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseKeir Starmer has urged Iran not to retaliate as world leaders fear a response to a barrage of Israeli strikes overnight. Israel launched three waves of air strikes early on Saturday, explicitly linking them to missile strikes from Tehran earlier this month. Israel had made no secret of its plans to hit back against Iran, which it also blames for backing Hamas in Gaza. As the world anxiously awaits Iran’s response, the prime minister warned of the need to ensure tensions do not escalate across the region.The US also said Israel’s overnight strikes should end the direct exchange of fire between the two countries and warned Tehran of “consequences” if it responds. Keir Starmer warned Iran not to retaliate More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseRachel Reeves is to slash the ‘right to buy’ discount given to those purchasing their council house in next week’s Budget. Ministers say the move is designed to “protect” existing stock so thousands more homes remain for rent. But the cut risks accusations that it is an attack on aspiration. The move is part of a wider housing package that has been hailed by the deputy prime minister Angela Rayer, who used the right to buy scheme to buy her Stockport house in 2007. She later turned a £48,500 profit on the house, when she sold it in 2015. The housing package has been hailed by Ms Reeves and Ms Rayner More

Your support helps us to tell the storyThis election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreCloseThe prime minister is set to be among those people protected from tax rises in next week’s Budget, the chancellor has suggested.Asked whether Sir Keir Starmer was defined as a working person, Rachel Reeves said: “The prime minister gets his income from going out to work and working for our country.”Before the election, Labour pledged not to raise taxes for working people, and ministers have come under increasing pressure to define the term.But Sir Keir prompted anger by suggesting people whose income is primarily from stocks and shares were not “working people”.People from unpaid carers to landlords have objected, saying what they do is vital for others and they would object to facing tax rises.Asked on LBC radio whether Sir Keir was a worker, Ms Reeves said: “He’s a working person.”Earlier this month, the PM was forced to pay back more than £6,000 worth of gifts and hospitality he received since entering No 10 after a row over ministerial donations.Ms Reeves added: “In this budget, we made a clear commitment in our manifesto not to increase the key taxes that working people pay: national insurance, income tax and VAT, and despite the difficult circumstances and unfunded commitments of the previous government, I’m determined to stick to that manifesto commitment in the Budget next Wednesday.”The prime minister’s comment has heightened expectations of a hike in capital gains tax. Inheritance tax and fuel duty are also said to be in line for hikes.Ms Reeves is looking to bridge what she calls a “£22 billion black hole” in the public finances.Downing Street was forced to backtrack after initially suggesting those with even a small income from stocks and shares would face higher taxes.Tom Selby, director of public policy at investment firm AJ Bell, told The Independent: “The government’s commitment not to raise taxes on ‘working people’ was always going to come unstuck because the definition is potentially so broad.“While raising the rate of capital gains tax will undoubtedly affect many working people and reduce the rewards for investing – potentially undermining the government’s wider ambition to drive economic growth – the chancellor will argue it is broadly wealthier people who will shoulder the burden.” More