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      Fuel duty: How will Rachel Reeves’s freeze on motorist tax affect you?

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      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 said it would be the “wrong choice” to increase fuel duty next year, saying she would continue the freeze and maintain the temporary 5p cut for another year.She told MPs during The Budget she has to “take some very difficult decisions” on tax, and noted to retain the 5p cut and freeze fuel duty again would cost more than £3 billion next year.This means the 5p per litre cut in fuel duty introduced by the Conservative government in March 2022 will continue.Until the 5p cut, fuel duty had been frozen at 57.95p per litre since March 2011.VAT is charged at 20% on top of the total price of fuel.Ms Reeves said: “To retain the 5p cut and to freeze fuel duty again would cost over £3 billion next year.“At a time when the fiscal position is so difficult, I have to be frank with the House that this is a substantial commitment to make.“I have concluded that in these difficult circumstances – while the cost of living remains high and with a backdrop of global uncertainty – increasing fuel duty next year would be the wrong choice for working people.“It would mean fuel duty rising by 7p per litre. So, I have today decided to freeze fuel duty next year and I will maintain the existing 5p cut for another year, too.“There will be no higher taxes at the petrol pumps next year.”Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves poses outside 11 Downing Street More

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      We still use fax machines to contact train crews, Northern Rail official admits in excruciating grilling

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      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 Northern Rail official has admitted the operator still uses fax machines to communicate with its train crews in an excruciating exchange about the state of its services.The shocking admission came as Northern mayors were grilling the rail operator on its poor performance on Wednesday, with issues raised including staffing problems, underinvestment, bad communication, and a lack of coordination with other parts of the sector – which has all led to repeated cancellations and growing anger among passengers.When Andy Burnham put to the rail official that he had heard Northern is still using fax machines, they argued that it was an issue of “depth and complexity” that would require a change in the agreement made with colleagues – a point disrupted by the incredulous Greater Manchester mayor.The Financial Times reported Mr Burnham posed the question over the use of fax machines: “Can that possibly be true?” to which the official responded, “It is very much true, chair.”The mayor demanded an explanation, “How? How on earth is that the case in 2024?” with the official replying: “That is a very fair and reasonable question. It’s our challenge to get rid of them. We have plans to get rid of them.”Mr Burnham stated: “You could do it tomorrow.” And the official agreed – but when the mayor asked if the operator was going to, they admitted it was not, “because the tools we use to get information and messages to our crew rely on faxes, amazingly. We will get there before we’re forced to because fax technology, in telecoms terms, turns off. Our plan that we’re putting forward…”Mr Burnham interrupted: “People will say: ‘How come we have three decades of privatisation when money was being poured into the railway and you are still communicating via fax machines in 2024?’”The official admitted: “It is a very fair question. Our job is to get rid of them. Our job is to unleash the full potential of emerging technological revolution,” but added that the “right agreement with our colleagues” needs to be reached.The mayor responded: “I hear what you say but it tells me though that your modernisation plan, like your training plan, is moving nowehere near fast enough. You could get rid of this stuff tomorrow. You could put in place IT to support people to communicate differently.”He went on to accuse Northern of having a “disregard for the travelling public”.Northern has been issued with a ‘breach notice’ by its owner, the Department for Transport, which requires the operator to produce an improvement plan More

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      What the inheritance tax rise in the Budget means for you

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      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 moreCloseChancellor Rachel Reeves has confirmed changes to inheritance tax (IHT) at the Budget as part of her tax rise package which aimed to raise £40bn.IHT has been reformed with the chancellor saying she aimed to take “a balanced approach.” The tax is a levy on the estate of someone who has died – meaning their property, money and possessions.Here’s everything you need to know about the changes and what they could mean for your family:What is inheritance tax?Inheritance tax is a levy applied to the estate of someone who has died, but only around 4 per cent of families end up paying it, as most estates fall below the tax threshold. Key to this exemption is that anything left to a spouse or civil partner is not subject to inheritance tax, regardless of the estate’s value. So if a deceased individual leaves their entire estate to their partner, even if valued at £10m, no inheritance tax will be charged. However, this exemption does not extend to partners who live together but are not married or in a civil partnership. Each individual has a £325,000 inheritance tax-free allowance. Estates valued below this threshold incur no tax, while those above it are taxed at 40 per cent on the excess.What changes are coming?Inheritance tax thresholds will be extended for two more years, until 2030. This means the first £325,000 of any estate can still be inherited tax-free until then. After this, it will still be taxed at 40 per cent. Ms Reeves did not reveal what changes could be expected after this.The chancellor also announced that inherited pensions will be brought into inheritance tax from April 2027.A few lesser-known rules have also been tweaked: business relief and the ability to pass on agricultural land tax-free. Ms Reeves said: “We will close the loophole made even bigger when the lifetime allowance was abolished by bringing inherited pensions into inheritance tax from April 2027.“We will reform agricultural property relief and business relied from April 2026, the first £1m of combined business and agricultural assets will continue to attract no inheritance tax at all.“But for asset over £1m, IHT will apply with a 50 per cent relief and at an effective rate of 20 per cent. This will ensure we continue to protect small family farms with three quarters of claims unaffected by these changes.” More

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      Watch Keir Starmer’s message to Rishi Sunak during Tory leader’s final PMQs

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      Rishi Sunak’s final appearance at the despatch box as Conservative party leader was marked by a jovial exchange with Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, 30 October.The prime minister thanked his predecessor for his “decency” and wished his family the best for the future.They laughed together as Mr Sunak, who is MP for Richmond and Northallerton in North Yorkshire, told MPs: “I’m particularly looking forward to doing the coast to coast walk that runs through my constituency and many others.”Can I ask the Prime Minister to ensure that the Coast-to-Coast (walk) does indeed become Britain’s greatest National Trail, and in preparation for my return to the back benches, would he meet with me to discuss it?”Sir Keir Starmer replied: “I thought he was about to ask me to join him on the walk, but certainly I will meet him.” More

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      Watch: Rachel Reeves holds red box outside Downing Street ahead of Labour’s Budget announcement

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      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 moreCloseWatch as Rachel Reeves and other Labour ministers departed Downing Street on Wednesday, 30 October, ahead of the party’s first Budget in 14 years.The chancellor held the red box outside Number 11 before she, Sir Keir Starmer, and their colleagues filed into the House of Commons.In her speech later today, she is expected to say the “prize on offer” is “immense”, and she will lay out new funding to cut hospital waiting lists, build more affordable homes and rebuild crumbling schools.“More pounds in people’s pockets. An NHS that is there when you need it. An economy that is growing, creating wealth and opportunity for all. Because that is the only way to improve living standards,” she will add.The Treasury has already announced that the minimum wage will increase to £12.21.It falls short of the £12.60 an hour sum recommended by the Living Wage Foundation, but Ms Reeves described the 6.7 per cent increase as a “significant step” towards creating a “genuine living wage for working people.”Labour has vowed not to raise taxes on “working people” in the days before the Budget announcement.Their pre-election manifesto promised not to increase income tax, national insurance, or VAT as part of their commitment to keep taxes low for these “working people.”However, other rumoured tax rises led critics to question who falls under Labour’s definition of “working.”The prime minister said the UK’s working people “know exactly who they are.”“I know some people want to have a debate about this”, he said, “and I know there will always be the exception that proves the rule.”Asked whether he considered people who get additional income from assets such as shares or property, he replied they “wouldn’t come within my definition.” More

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      More spending and tax hikes expected in the first budget from Britain’s Labour government

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      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 British Treasury chief Rachel Reeves will deliver her first budget in Parliament on Wednesday, a tightrope act that aims to find billions for investment through borrowing and tax hikes without roiling businesses or raising taxes on working people.It’s the first budget by a Labour Party government in almost 15 years, and the first ever delivered by a female finance minister.Reeves pledged that the budget will put “more pounds in people’s pockets” and get the economy growing, but the government has struck a gloomy note about the state of the public finances.Prime Minister Keir Starmer warned that the budget will reflect “the harsh light of fiscal reality.”The center-left Labour Party was elected July 4 after promising to banish years of turmoil and scandal under Conservative governments, get Britain’s economy growing and restore frayed public services, especially the state-funded National Health Service.The center-left government argues that higher taxes and limited public spending increases are needed to “fix the foundations” of an economy that it argues has been undermined by 14 years of Conservative government.The Conservatives say they left an economy that was growing, albeit modestly, with lower levels of debt and a smaller deficit than many other Group of Seven wealthy nations.Pumping money into health, education and housing is a priority of the new government, made harder by a sluggish economy, hobbled by rising public debt and low growth. The government also says there is a 22 billion pound ($29 billion) “black hole” in the public finances left by the Conservative government.That means the budget is certain to include tax increases — though Labour has pledged not to raise the tax burden on “working people,” a term whose definition has been hotly debated in the media for weeks. The Treasury has announced that about 3 million of the lowest-paid workers will get a 6.7% pay increase next year, with he minimum wage rising to 12.21 pounds ($15.90) an hour.Reeves – Britain’s first female chancellor of the exchequer — is widely expected to tweak the government’s debt rules so that she can borrow billions more for investment in the health system, schools, railways and other big infrastructure projects, and to raise money by hiking tax paid by employers, though not employees. More

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      Rachel Reeves issues final message ahead of historic autumn Budget

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      Rachel Reeves issued a final message before Labour’s first Budget in 14 years was presented to the public on Wednesday, 30 October.In a video posted to her social media pages, the chancellor described how she “likes graphs and spreadsheets” and has been “poring over the detail” of the government’s upcoming economic announcements.Labour vowed not to raise taxes on “working people” in the days before the Budget announcement.However, other rumoured tax rises led critics to question who falls under Labour’s definition of “working.”The prime minister said the UK’s working people “know exactly who they are.” More

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      Budget 2024 live: Reeves to pledge more ‘pounds in people’s pockets’ as minimum wage to rise to £12.21

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      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 pledge to put “more pounds in people’s pockets” when she announces her first Budget on Wednesday.After months of warning the public of the “tough choices” ahead, Ms Reeves is expected to promise to “invest, invest, invest” in order to “fix public services”.Reeves is expected to say in her speech today: “My belief in Britain burns brighter than ever. And the prize on offer to today is immense.“More pounds in people’s pockets. An NHS that is there when you need it. An economy that is growing, creating wealth and opportunity for all. Because that is the only way to improve living standards.“And the only way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest, invest. There are no short cuts. To deliver that investment we must restore economic stability.”The minimum wage will increase to £12.21, the Treasury revealed on Tuesday evening.Ms Reeves has described the 6.7 per cent increase as a “significant step” towards creating a “genuine living wage for working people” – although it falls short of the £12.60 an hour sum recommended by the Living Wage Foundation.Show latest update 1730253600Full report: Rachel Reeves pledges to ‘invest, invest, invest’ as she prepares to unveil historic Labour BudgetIn what is expected to be a Budget of record-breaking tax rises involving “tough choices” to “fix public services”, Ms Reeves will hold out some hope with a rallying cry that she intends to “invest, invest, invest” to turn the country around.The rhetoric appears to deliberately echo Tony Blair’s three priorities of “education, education, education” ahead of the 1997 election as Ms Reeves attempts to grasp the optimism of his New Labour government in what is widely expected to be a gloomy Budget.The Independent’s Political Editor David Maddox reports:David Maddox30 October 2024 02:001730250000‘Serious concern’ among small business owners about Budget tax risesSmall business owners are “seriously concerned” by the possibility of tax rises in the Budget on Wednesday.Some fear they will need to cut their employee headcount, including paraplanning business owner Steve Luke, 56.“I’m seriously concerned that if the Budget is as bad as I’m expecting then we may have to reduce the workforce from nine to seven or eight,” he told PA.Mr Luke says he is concerned the government will not view him as a “working person” in the Budget, as he takes a small salary from the business while also paying himself a dividend due to fluctuating income.Farmer and landlord Richard Payne, 61, who owns around 500 acres of land and rents 150-200 acres for wheat, barley, oilseed rape and canola farming, says he is “extremely nervous”.“Whilst I’m probably not going to be clobbered hard on national insurance contributions, because we don’t employ a huge number of people… I’m more worried about taxation on profit, if we make any, and also, in my case, losing agricultural property leave or business property relief on our assets,” he said.Joy Francis, 76, the owner of two nurseries and employer of 22 people, fears the increase on employer’s national insurance contributions.“(The Government) just doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of small businesses being the backbone of the economy and we’re not all money-grabbing people with shareholders to pay.”Alex Croft30 October 2024 01:001730246520Chancellor must fund Scotland “immediately and significantly”, John Swinney saysFunding for Scotland must increase “immediately and significantly” in Wednesday’s budget, first minister John Swinney has said.At a reception for business leaders on Tuesday, Mr Swinney said: “The Office for Budget Responsibility highlighted recently the potential for public investment to deliver permanent improvements in the economy.“It is welcome that my calls for the Chancellor to amend her fiscal rules have been heard, with indications last week that there will be scope for greater investment.“The Chancellor has the chance to choose to deliver a UK Budget that invests in our public services and supports the entrepreneurial spirit displayed in Scotland’s business sector.“With these new rules in place, the Chancellor must use the fiscal headroom they create to deliver a Budget that immediately and significantly enhances Scotland’s resource and capital funding, enabling us to invest more in our public services and take forward the vital infrastructure projects that support economic growth, net zero, and action to tackle child poverty.”The Scottish government recently made more than £500 million of in-year cuts, with Scotland’s finances in significant difficulty.Mr Swinney has also called for an Acorn carbon capture and storage facility in the north east of Scotland to be funded after it was overlooked twice by successive UK governments.Chancellor Rachel Reeves, left, with first minister John Swinney, right More