UK Politics

Keir Starmer refuses to rule out raising national insurance contributionsYour 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 moreCloseHousing secretary Angela Rayner is planning to double the number of council homes after receiving a boost in the budget, according to reports. The deputy prime minister is set to announce nearly £1billion to begin a “council housing revolution” and build tens of thousands of extra homes, The Times reported. Ms Rayner believes council housing is crucial for the government’s target of 1.5 million new homes in the next five years.As part of the plan, the deputy PM is also set to crack down on the Right to Buy scheme, which allows council house residents to buy their homes below market value, according to The Times. A senior government source told The Times: “Angela’s ambitions on social and council housing have the full backing of the prime minister and chancellor, and that will become even clearer in the weeks ahead.”They are joined at the hip when it comes to getting Britain building.”We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates ahead of the big event on 30 October here, on The Independent’s liveblog.Show latest update 1729521839UK interest rates will drop to 2.75 per cent, Goldman Sachs predictsJabed Ahmed21 October 2024 15:431729521117UK banks pay record amount in taxes after making bumper profitsUK banks paid a record amount in taxes last year after generating bumper profits, while the gap between taxation on the City and other global financial hubs widens, figures show.The UK banking sector’s total tax contribution was £44.8 billion for the financial year to the end of March, according to analysis produced by PwC for trade group UK Finance.With the government set to announce its Budget  next week, there has been growing speculation over possible tax changes to help cover shortfalls in public finances.Gary Greenwood, a research analyst for Shore Capital Markets, said the Government would need to “think long and hard” before potentially increasing taxes for banks.“While taxing banks more may not get much pushback from the public, they already carry a relatively high tax burden in an international context and we feel that it would also be a damaging move when the Government is seeking to drive increased economic growth,” he said.Jabed Ahmed21 October 2024 15:311729519377What are the rumoured welfare spending cuts?Labour has made no secret of its ambition to reduce the government’s welfare spending bill, so Ms Reeves will likely take the Budget as her opportunity to do so.Speaking at Labour’s party conference, the prime minister said: “We will get the welfare bill down because we will tackle long-term sickness and support people back to work.”What has been confirmed is a crackdown on benefit fraud, which looks to save £1.6bn over the next five years. Also possible is the mooted reform to personal independence payments (PIP) to provide cash vouchers or expenses rather than regular payments – a Conservative-era policy that Labour has refused to rule out.Jabed Ahmed21 October 2024 15:021729518302Threat to high earners as Rachel Reeves looks to plug £40bn Budget black holeJabed Ahmed21 October 2024 14:451729515717Will there be an inheritance tax increase? Inheritance tax is a levy on the estate of someone who has died. This is their property, money and possessions. Crucially, it is not paid if the value of these things is below £325,000.The tax rate is 40 per cent, but it’s only charged on the part of the estate that’s above the threshold. In 2023/24, only 5 per cent of deaths generated an inheritance tax bill, raising around £7 billion.However, the IFS writes that the tax measure “is littered with special exemptions”. These include a business relief, the ability to pass on agricultural land tax-free, and the tax-free passing on of pension pots.The economic think tank says that ending these measures alone would raise £4.8bn a year by 2029.Jabed Ahmed21 October 2024 14:011729512177Could the government tax pension savings?Pension tax relief is a reduction of the amount of tax paid on private pensions. It helps workers save for retirement by boosting their pension pots.The amount of tax relief a person is granted is based on their income tax. It will effectively cancel out tax on pension contributions up to a maximum of £60,000.After this, contributions will be taxed at either 20, 40, or 45 per cent, depending on which income tax rate the worker falls into.However, the chancellor is thought to be considering a flat 30 per cent pension tax relief rate. This would mean that higher earners would effectively pay 10 per cent in tax, while those on the additional rate would pay 15.The measure would raise around £3 billion a year, with 7 million earners paying more tax. But it would be better news for basic rate earners, who would actually begin to receive a 10 per cent boost to their pension contributions.Evaluating the idea last year, the IFS said it would “redistribute the burden of taxation from the bottom 80 per cent to the top 20 per cent of earners.”Jabed Ahmed21 October 2024 13:021729510197Calls for budget to fund Iron Dome-style missile defence system in UKThe UK needs its own version of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system to protect it from Russian aggression, former ministers have said. Former defence secretary Penny Mordaunt told The I: “This is a significant UK capability gap we must plug at the earliest opportunity. The forthcoming Budget must enable early work to be done on the alliance’s key needs and let the US and other partners know we mean business.”Jabed Ahmed21 October 2024 12:291729508517Budget 2024 preview: Capital Gains reformCapital Gains Tax (CGT) is paid on the profit made when an asset which has increased in value is sold. It is applied to things like the sale of personal possessions worth more than £6,000 (apart from a car), property that’s not the seller’s main home, shares and business assets.It is charged at 10 or 18 percent for basic rate taxpayers, and 20 or 24 for higher or additional rate earners. There is a tax-free allowance of £3,000.There are several ways CGT could be changed. In the run-up to the election, the Lib Dems and Greens both said they would rethink the tax bands to be more similar to income tax, raising an estimated £5.2bn a year.Jabed Ahmed21 October 2024 12:011729505637Fact check: Would raising employer national insurance be a ‘tax on working people’?Speculation has mounted in the subsequent months, with an increase in employer NICs now looking likely. The measure has caused strong political debate, focused on whether it would break Labour’s manifesto pledge to not raise taxes on “working people.”Ministers and Treasury officials have indicated the government’s position is that the measure would not break their manifesto pledge. Labour has not confirmed that an employer NIC hike will be included in the Budget, but has refused to rule the measure out. Meanwhile, Institute for Fiscal Studies director Paul Johnson has argued it would be a “straightforward breach.”The tax expert adds that in the extreme case that an increase of one pence per pound in employer NICs was passed on to employees in the form of lower wages, the measure would only net £4.5 billion a year. He adds that the end figure would probably be a little higher than this, but much less than a previous HMRC estimate of £8.5 billion.Jabed Ahmed21 October 2024 11:131729502097Martin Lewis sends warning over Buy Now Pay Later crackdownMartin Lewis has issued a warning over a new crackdown on buy now, pay later products.The money expert has cautioned consumers it is a case of buy now, get protected later.Ministers have announced that millions of shoppers are to be protected by new rules for BNPL, as they are known.Mr Lewis welcomed the change saying: “Buy Now, Pay Later is now ubiquitous at online checkouts, so the fact it’s never been regulated is a travesty I and others have long campaigned on.“The last chancellor promised to regulate, then the tumbleweed rolled as he went silent, so I am delighted the new government has quickly restarted the process.”Jabed Ahmed21 October 2024 10:14 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 moreCloseMichael Gove has said personal attacks on his ex-wife Sarah Vine were the thing that “really hurt most” during his political career.He said Ms Vine, who is a columnist for the Daily Mail, was “portrayed as a sort of Lady Macbeth figure” when he was weighing up lending his support to Boris Johnson in his bid to become Tory leader after the 2016 Brexit vote.The former cabinet minister said the “fact she was attacked in that way at a time of turmoil overall was incredibly hurtful”.In his new BBC series, ‘Surviving Politics with Michael Gove’, the former levelling up secretary interviewed Labour spin doctor Peter Mandelson.Mr Gove, who is now the editor of the Spectator magazine, asked Lord Mandelson what advice he would give new Labour MPs who have entered parliament following the party’s landslide general election victory.Vine (right) pictured with former husband Michael Gove in 2016 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 moreCloseJames Cleverly spent £653 per person on in-flight catering for a one-day trip to Rwanda, it has been revealed.Mr Cleverly, who was home secretary at the time, chartered a private jet for an 11-hour visit to Kigali to sign Rishi Sunak’s deportation deal.The visit, which came after the supreme court ruled that Rwanda was an “unsafe country”, came to a total of £165,561. The then home secretary made the trip alongside officials and a TV crew in December 2023 where he signed the new treaty with Vincent Biruta, Kigali’s foreign affairs minister.The catering alone on the return flight cost a total of £9,803.20 for Mr Cleverly and his 14 officials, amounting to £653.55 a head, according to a freedom of information response seen by the Guardian. The TV crew paid for their own food.James Cleverly signed a fresh treaty with Rwanda in December (Ben Birchall/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 moreCloseFears have been raised that Wes Streeting’s inflation-busting funding deal for the NHS will not be enough for him to pay for the reforms he wants to drive through.Sources have told The Independent that the Department for Health and Social Care is set to get about 4 per cent – between £7bn and £8bn – as Mr Streeting confirmed that he has mostly agreed his settlement with chancellor Rachel Reeves. Inflation is currently running at 1.7 per cent.But despite the figure being the most generous settlement for any government department, experts and NHS insiders have been warned by insiders that it is “a stand still settlement” while, the respected King’s Fund suggested it would be “hard to say what amount would really be ‘enough’”. Others claimed it may be short of what is needed in the wake of the massive pay deal for junior doctors.The British Medical Association (BMA), which represents doctors, has told The Independent it believes the government should match the average of the Tony Blair government years which saw an annual rise of 6.7 per cent. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said the Mounjaro weight-loss jabs could be a ‘game-changer’ 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 moreCloseMinisters and AI developers are locked in an “arms race” with criminals and rogue states attempting to use the technology for harm, a senior MP has warned, calling for more clarity on how it will be regulated. Chi Onwurah, who chairs the science, innovation and technology committee, told The Independent that the “creativity and focus of criminal enterprises on adopting technology is unimaginable”. But the Labour MP stressed that AI should not simply be seen as a force for harm, saying when used correctly it can be a “transformative technology that can really improve peoples’ lives”.“We really need to understand what it’s capable of, what it’s doing right now and the impact it’s going to have – and I don’t think we’re in that position.Ms Onwurah stressed that AI should not simply be seen as a force for harm More

Starmer refuses to rule out national insurance rise at PMQsYour 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 health secretary has declined to rule out extending the freeze on income tax thresholds as speculation about possible tax increases in the Budget continued to mount.Wes Streeting said he would not guess measures that the Chancellor might introduce in the Budget, but told broadcasters on Sunday morning that he had already agreed health spending with Rachel Reeves.Mr Streeting told Sky News: What we’re not going to do is duck the difficult decisions, have Government by gimmick, short-term sticking plasters, because that is exactly how we ended up in this situation.”He went on to say: “There are a whole load of choices that we will have to make that we would have preferred not to. But if we don’t make the choices now, we will end up paying a much heavier price for failure.“We’re not prepared to do that. We’re going to make the right long term decisions.”We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates ahead of the big event on 30 October here, on The Independent’s liveblog.Show latest update 1729434616Lib Dems will oppose national insurance increasesLiberal Democrats deputy leader Daisy Cooper said the party will oppose the increase of national insurance contributions for employers, if the rumoured policy is in the Government’s Budget later this month.The party’s Treasury spokeswoman said she was worried about the impact on care providers, which could send some from a state of “crisis to collapse”.Speaking to Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Ms Cooper said: “I think we are deeply uncomfortable about that proposal.“One of our concerns in particular is that there are many very small care homes and small care providers around the country, and they… are on the cliff edge as it stands.“If the Government were to put up employer contributions, particularly for these small businesses, for these small care homes, I think we might see many of them go from a state of crisis to a state of collapse with no choice but to close their doors.”She went on to say: “The rumour as it stands is that the Government intend to raise the national insurance contributions on all companies, irrespective of whether they’re small or large… I think we probably end up having to vote no against that.”Jabed Ahmed20 October 2024 15:301729431016UK faces ‘make or break moment’ in Budget, says SwinneyScotland’s First Minister will use a speech on Monday to urge the Chancellor to increase spending, as he said the Budget presents a “make or break moment” for the UK.First Minister John Swinney is expected to make his most outspoken intervention on the budget and push the Chancellor to invest in public services.Speaking at an event in Edinburgh on Monday in front of academics, think tanks and representatives of the private, public and voluntary sector, the First Minister is expected to describe the past seven years – which has seen Brexit, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the subsequent energy price and inflation hikes – as a “long, dark economic winter”.He will add: “What is needed now is a collective commitment to public investment for economic renewal, investment that will allow us to move into an economic spring, with new growth, new opportunities and new hope.”Jabed Ahmed20 October 2024 14:301729427416Budget 2024: Inheritance tax set to rise – here’s what it means for youJabed Ahmed20 October 2024 13:301729423816Streeting says he cannot fix 14 years of NHS issues with one budgetWes Streeting said he had reached a deal on NHS funding with the Chancellor, but could not fix the problems of the last 14 years in one Budget.Asked about potential funding increases at the Budget, the Health Secretary told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I’m not going to get into specific figures.“I’ve settled with the Chancellor, but we are not going to fix 14 years in one Budget.”He also stressed the need for reform as well as investment in the NHS, saying he was “conscious” that money spent on health was money that could not be spent in other areas.He added: “There isn’t a single part of Government and the public sector where there aren’t real crises.”Jabed Ahmed20 October 2024 12:301729421356Streeting refuses to rule out income tax threshold freezeWes Streeting has refused to rule out that the Government will freeze income tax thresholds in the upcoming Budget.Mr Streeting had previously voted against the measure in opposition while Rishi Sunak was prime minister.Speaking on Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News, Mr Streeting said: “I’m not going to speculate on what the Chancellor might do in the Budget.“If you’re asking me whether I would vote against anything in the Chancellor’s Budget? The answer is no, of course I’m not going to do that.”He went on to say: “This country is paying a heavy price for Conservative failure, and we’re going to have to make some big and difficult choices in this Budget to make sure we fix the foundations of the economy and we don’t end up back here.”He later added: “What we’re not going to do is duck the difficult decisions, have Government by gimmick, short-term sticking plasters, because that is exactly how we ended up in this situation.”Jabed Ahmed20 October 2024 11:491729415820Full report: Starmer denies election pledges will be broken as Reeves plans stealth taxesJabed Ahmed20 October 2024 10:171729411380Reeves considers raising tax on vaping in BudgetRachel Reeves is considering raising the tax on vaping products in the upcoming Budget as figures lay bare how many children access them in the UK, The Guardian reports.The tax on vaping products was originally announced by the Conservatives in March, to come in to force in 2026. It is now understood that Ms Reeves could look to increase this.Under current plans, the new rates from April 2026 will range from £1-3 per 10ml of liquid, depending on nicotine level.Jabed Ahmed20 October 2024 09:031729404060When is the 2024 Budget and what might be in it?Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver Labour’s first Budget on Wednesday 30 October.Each year, the chancellor of the exchequer – who is in charge of the government’s finances – makes a Budget statement to MPs. .The speech outlines the government’s plans for spending and taxes.The Budget speech usually starts around 12:30pm and lasts about an hour. The Independent will be bringing you all the latest updates on the big day.Ms Reeves may be considering pushing the freeze beyond its current expiry date of 2028 in a move that could raise £7 billion, according to the Financial Times.Other measures reported to be under consideration include increasing employers’ national insurance contributions, raising fuel duty for the first time since 2010, changes to rules on inheritance tax and stamp duty, and a levy on e-cigarettes, according to reports across the media.The Treasury has so far declined to comment on Budget speculation.Jabed Ahmed20 October 2024 07:011729396800Government will keep manifesto pledges, says StarmerPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that the government will keep to manifesto pledges ahead of the Budget.Asked about whether reported tax changes under consideration would keep to their promise of not increasing taxes for working people, Sir Keir told a press conference in Berlin: “We are going to keep our manifesto pledges.”He added: “I’m not going to pre-empt the individual measures that will be outlined by the Chancellor in due course.“This is going to be a Budget that will fix the foundations and rebuild our country.”When asked further about potential tax rises, the Prime Minister said that “you’ll just have to wait until the Chancellor lays that out in full, but the structure if you like, the framework, is going to be to fix the foundations and to rebuild our country.”Jabed Ahmed20 October 2024 05:001729389600Comment: Labour were right to break their promise on taxes – we should all be paying moreJabed Ahmed20 October 2024 03:00 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 moreCloseLeaked recordings have sparked fears the British High Commission in Mauritius had its phones hacked around the time the UK opened negotiations for the handover of the Chagos Islands. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has confirmed police in Mauritius are investigating after audio of apparent discussions between the British high commissioner Charlotte Pierre and other political figures were featured on the Mauritian Facebook page Missie Moustass (Mr Moustache).The clips are claimed to feature a conversation between Ms Pierre and local businessman Ken Arian, chief executive of Airport Holdings, who has recently welcomed the “decolonisation” of the Chagos Islands.Sources told The Independent that the conversation is thought to have taken place around October or November 2022, meaning it is likely to have occurred towards the start of the negotiations over the Indian Ocean islands. At one point, Ms Pierre can be heard saying: “I don’t have a prime minister at the moment”, adding, “You know what, I can say it now but we haven’t had a prime minister for two months.”The Diego Garcia airbase is crucial for UK and US operations 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 moreCloseWes Streeting has appeared to confirm that Rachel Reeves will carry out a tax raid on national insurance contributions to help fill the £40 billion gap in Labour’s spending plans.Meanwhile, his refusal to rule out extending the freezing of income tax thresholds beyond 2028 also appeared to confirm speculation that the chancellor is getting creative on raising taxes.The health secretary was speaking in a series of Sunday morning interviews, where he also revealed that his department’s spending settlement has already been agreed with a belief that he has managed to get billions extra for the NHS on the promise that he delivers long term cost cutting reforms.The interventions followed new reports that Ms Reeves also intends to raise an extra £1 billion by lowering the thresholds on inheritance tax in what will be seen as a tax raid on the middle classes.Wes Streeting said the Government’s 10-year plan would turn the NHS ‘on its head’ (Ben Whitley/PA) More