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 Conservative MP has called for a “crackdown on spitting” and “large and instant fines” for people playing music on public transport as part of an attempt to make the UK “vaguely civilised again”.Neil O’Brien also called for an end to vandalism of street furniture, action to stop e-bikes and scooters being ridden on pavements, an end to “street scars” where gaps in street paving are replaced with tarmac, and a “galvanising” national goal to cut down the volume of litter.The Leicestershire MP also called for a push to plant trees on every residential street “where this is remotely possible”.Writing in his Substack blog, Mr O’Brien, who was a minister in the previous Tory administration, said the desire to live in an “orderly and civilised society” was “one of the most under-discussed and under-appreciated things in politics”.Neil O’Brien said an ‘orderly and civilised society’ has not been delivered by politicians 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 moreCloseSir Keir Starmer has heightened expectations of a capital gains tax hike in next week’s Budget by describing “working people” as those whose income is not primarily from stocks and shares.The prime minister all but confirmed he would raise taxes on wealth, saying that those whose main source of income is stocks, shares and property fall outside his definition of “working people”.He and Labour promised repeatedly during the general election campaign to not raise taxes on working people, and ministers have come under increasing pressure to define the term.Sir Keir’s revelation on Thursday night gives the clearest indication yet of his thinking ahead of Rachel Reeves’ make-or-break Budget on Wednesday.He was forced to backtrack after initially suggesting those with even relatively little income from stocks and shares were in line for tax hikes. But a spokesman for the PM quickly clarified that Sir Keir meant those for whom stocks, shares and property made up their primary income source.Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves promised to not raise taxes on ‘working people’ during the election campaign 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 moreCloseSir Keir Starmer has been forced to climb down from his suggestion that he does not consider people who have an income from assets such as shares of property to be working people. It comes after Labour promised in its manifesto not to raise VAT, income tax or national insurance contributions for “working people”. The government has been asked repeatedly to define this term, in a bid to establish which taxes may rise in the Budget.“They wouldn’t come within my definition,” he initially told Sky News during an interview at a Commonwealth summit in Samoa. Among the levies which are reportedly under consideration for a hike are capital gains tax, inheritance tax, and fuel duty.The government has been asked repeatedly to define ‘working people’, in a bid establish which taxes may rise in the Budget 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 moreCloseBritain will rejoin the European Union within 15 years, a former European Commission chief has predicted.Speaking about the UK’s decision to leave the EU at the UCL Centre for Finance, Romano Prodi – who served as President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004 – said: “I’m betting that in 15 years the UK will come back.”His optimism for Britain to rejoin the bloc is not matched by Jean-Claude Juncker, another former European Commission chief, who in July suggested it would take “a century or two”. Speaking to Politico, he said: “When you leave a boat, you can’t get back on the same boat”. “In a century or two, yes”, he added.Sir Keir Starmer has previously insisted the UK will not rejoin the EU within his lifetime.The prime minister has ruled out a return to the European Union 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 had a shock pre-Budget poll boost despite Donald Trump’s furious attack this week accusing Labour of election interference.The weekly Techne UK tracker poll for The Independent put Labour up one point on 29 per cent and the Tories down one on 24 per cent.Reform UK held steady at 19 per cent, as did the Liberal Democrats on 13. The Greens and the SNP also saw no change, at 7 per cent and 2 per cent respectively.The government will unveil its first budget next week More

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 moreCloseRachel Reeves will announce Labour’s first Budget since coming into power on 30 October, leading one of the most anticipated fiscal events in over two decades.Ahead of her announcement, veteran Labour politician Lord Blunkett has warned the chancellor against “very worrying” proposals to raise national insurance on employers’ pension contributions. Writing in The Times, the former Labour work and pensions secretary said: “It is one thing to increase the rate of National Insurance, and quite another to levy this on employer pension contributions.“I sincerely hope the rumours are well wide of the mark.”Yesterday, the chancellor said “taxes will need to rise” in her starkest warning to the public yet. Writing in the Financial Times, the chancellor added that this will come alongside “tough decisions on spending and welfare.”Ms Reeves also strongly hints that she will be revising Labour’s fiscal rule around debt, unlocking a potential £57bn for investment, writing that the rule “will make space for increased investment in the fabric of our economy”.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 1729861077Labour Budget must tackle “black hole” in family finances, charity saysNew research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation ahead of next week’s Budget shows the ongoing “black hole” in family finances, particularly affecting the poorest families, with many already £700 worse off than they were five years ago.They are calling on the government to act on the findings and take action on hardship at the upcoming event.Katie Schmuecker, Principal Policy Adviser at JRF, says: “The Budget on October 30th is not just a book-balancing exercise, it is a statement of political intent.“The Labour manifesto described the need for emergency food parcels as a moral scar on our society, so it is inconceivable that there will not be a serious plan to protect families from hardship this winter and beyond.“Last year Labour condemned the fact that 1 million children experienced destitution in a single year as a damning indictment of the Conservative government. A Labour government now has the power to take urgent action and people are looking to them to act.”Albert Toth25 October 2024 13:571729859425Budget rumours: Private equity profitsIn a manifesto pledge, Labour said it will announce more details on plans to close the private equity tax loophole in the October Budget.Due to the ‘carried interest’ law, private equity fund managers pay only 28 per cent tax on their income, which is treated as capital gains. This was the result of a successful lobbying campaign in 1987.Labour has vowed to change this, making managers pay the 45 per cent higher rate of income tax. It is estimated the change will raise around £600 million a year with just a few thousand people affected.Albert Toth25 October 2024 13:301729850452Rachel Reeves set to borrow billions for investment after announcing major change to fiscal rulesRachel Reeves has announced a change to the fiscal rules ahead of next week’s budget, allowing her to borrow billions more each year.The chancellor today confirmed her rules will “make space for increased investment in the fabric of our economy”, amid widespread expectation she will change the way debt is measured.Archie Mitchell25 October 2024 11:001729843822Lord Blunkett: Plans to increase NI on pension contributions “very worrying”Veteran Labour politician Lord Blunkett has expressed his concerns over rumoured plans to reform pension tax relief, extending employers’ national insurance contributions.Writing in the times, he said: “The widespread reporting of a possible extension of employers’ national insurance in next week’s budget is very worrying. It is one thing to increase the rate of national insurance, and quite another to levy this on employer pension contributions.“As the former work and pensions secretary who signed off, with Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, pensions auto-enrolment — which recognised the genuine crisis, for generations to come, in maintaining living standards in retirement — I would advise strongly against this.“We need more employers contributing more than the basic 3 per cent and, with it, the corollary of savings and investment, not less. I sincerely hope the rumours are well wide of the mark.”Albert Toth25 October 2024 09:101729836005Rachel Reeves set to borrow billions for investment after announcing major change to fiscal rulesAlexander Butler25 October 2024 07:001729832400Air Passenger Duty may go up in Reeves’s Budget – could the ‘Inverness Immunity’ come to an end?A week from now, the chancellor will be rehearsing for her first Budget. With rises in the most significant taxes – such as income tax and VAT – ruled out, Air Passenger Duty (APD) looks ripe for an increase, writes Simon Calder.Read his expert advice: Simon Calder25 October 2024 06:001729821600How make-or-break Budget has fractured Keir Starmer’s cabinetRachel Reeves’ Budget is a make-or-break moment for Sir Keir Starmer’s government, potentially sparking a decade of national renewal – or sowing the seeds of Labour’s downfall.The prime minister’s poll ratings are at rock bottom after just over 100 days in charge, and the much-hyped “tough choices” to be unveiled on October 30 will likely do little to help boost his appeal.Albert Toth25 October 2024 03:001729818000Rachel Reeves to turn on spending taps with Budget boost for infrastructure and clean energyAlexander Butler25 October 2024 02:001729810860How Labour could push through ‘stealth’ income tax rise at the BudgetLabour is expected to extend an income tax measure that has been described as a “stealth tax” at the upcoming Budget as more people are set to pay higher rates.Officials have said Rachel Reeves is looking to extend the freeze on income tax thresholds, which has dragged millions of earners into paying higher rates of income tax since 2021.Albert Toth25 October 2024 00:011729800044Rachel Reeves set to borrow billions for investment after announcing major change to fiscal rulesRachel Reeves has announced a change to the fiscal rules ahead of next week’s budget, allowing her to borrow billions more each year.The chancellor today confirmed her rules will “make space for increased investment in the fabric of our economy”, amid widespread expectation she will change the way debt is measured.Albert Toth24 October 2024 21:00 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 moreClose Bulgarians will cast ballots on Sunday in the seventh general elections in just over three years as the country faces growing political instability that might further enhance the popularity of pro-Russian and far-right groups.Of the six elections since 2021, only two have produced an elected government, but both coalitions collapsed after trying to introduce reforms, take on graft, and reduce reliance on Russia.There was no clear winner in the latest vote, held in June, and the seven groups elected to the fragmented legislature were unable to put together a viable coalition. Observers suggest that the coming vote will produce more of the same and that chances for an immediate end of the political stalemate are low.Pollsters predict that voter fatigue and disillusionment with the political system will result in low turnout and another fractured parliament where populist and pro-Russian groups could increase their representation. A record low turnout is expected and at the same time a high number of votes which have not been cast freely, said prominent analyst Stoyana Georgieva. These include instances where parties have paid for votes in cash but also where local authorities or corporations have put pressure on voters to cast their ballots in a certain way. Georgieva said it was possible that the main pro-Russia party in Bulgaria, Vazrazhdane, would emerge as the second-largest group in parliament. The far-right, ultra-nationalist and populist party demands that Bulgaria lift sanctions against Russia, stop helping Ukraine, and hold a referendum on its membership in NATO.The Balkan country of 6.7 million has been gripped by political instability since 2020, when nationwide protests erupted against corrupt politicians that had allowed oligarchs to take control of state institutions.Bulgaria is one of the poorest and most corrupt European Union member states. Attempts to fight graft are an uphill battle against an unreformed judiciary widely accused of serving the interests of politicians.Georgieva said she does not expect the next parliament to produce a widely acceptable compromise. “At best, it could be a compromise on the edge of the least evil in Bulgaria. In this turbulent situation in the region — with the war in Ukraine, the war in the Middle East — both conflicts are very close to Bulgaria and Bulgaria is very vulnerable,” she told The Associated Press.According to Georgieva, three main groups of parties will enter the next Parliament. “The first group are the kleptocratic parties led by the until recently ruling GERB, which is also the first political force whose leader and former prime minister is responsible for the implementation of a corrupt model in Bulgaria,” Georgieva said referring to former Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.“The second group … are parties that in some honest way try to defend the causes of justice and liberal democracy; and a third group of parties that are openly pro-Putin.”It is very likely, said Georgieva, that after these elections some kind of government will be formed between the democrats and the kleptocratic parties that still hold pro-European and pro-Ukraine positions.While the successive elections since 2020 have produced broadly similar results, the current election will add some changes to the political landscape. Two of the oldest parties — the Socialists and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms — have been seriously shaken by internal conflicts.The MRF, which traditionally represented the ethnic Turkish vote, recently split into two rival factions, one around party founder Ahmed Dogan, and the other behind U.S.-sanctioned businessman and media tycoon Delyan Peevski. More