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      Labour and Conservatives ‘misleading’ voters on tax and spending plans, top economist warns

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      Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour and the Conservatives have been accused of misleading voters over their tax and spending plans and ignoring a £20bn hole in the public finances after the election.Amid a war of words over whether Sir Keir Starmer or Rishi Sunak would rule out a VAT hike, a top economist told The Independent both parties are being dishonest with voters about the country’s finances.Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), said both parties have committed to reducing Britain’s debt in the next five years. “For better or worse, that is going to require some combination of tax rises or spending cuts,” he told The Independent.Mr Emmerson also hit out at the row over which taxes each party has committed to freezing, saying noting that both Sir Keir and Mr Sunak have committed to frozen tax thresholds, which will mean higher taxes for millions of workers.After Labour and the Conservatives vowed not to raise the headline rates of national insurance, income tax, VAT, Mr Emmerson said they had chosen “an easier sell”.But he said frozen income tax and national insurance thresholds would cost taxpayers an additional £11bn a year by the end of the next parliament. By contrast a 1p income tax hike would cost taxpayers just £9bn.Tax thresholds were linked to inflation until then chancellor Mr Sunak froze them in 2022. The effect is that, as inflation rises, millions are dragged into paying tax for the first time, while others are dragged into higher tax bands. Others, who would have seen their taxable income decrease thanks to higher thresholds, now longer feel the benefits.Rachel Reeves and Jeremy Hunt have ruled out raising income tax, national insurance and VAT More

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      Businesses battered by Brexit urge Labour and Tories to slash EU tariffs

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      Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightThe next UK government must urgently focus on a better trading relationship with the EU as Brexit has increased costs and made it tougher to export, one of the country’s most influential business networks has said.The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) published its election manifesto on Tuesday, citing improved relations with the trading bloc as part of its five demands for whoever wins the general election on July 4.The manifesto says leaving the EU made it “more expensive and bureaucratic to sell our goods and services across the Channel” – but that better terms are possible to help firms trade.Shevaun Haviland, director general of the BCC, said: “The EU is the UK’s biggest market, so we urgently need to get a better trading relationship with our closest neighbour.“It’s not about rewriting the referendum result, it’s about cutting red tape and promoting trade.” Both Labour and the Conservatives have drawn criticism for avoiding discussion of Brexit and the country’s future relationship with Europe.Writing in The Independent, Tory grandee Michael Heseltine, a prominent figure in Margaret Thatcher’s government, said this general election will be “the most dishonest in modern times” because of the refusal of the main parties to debate the consequences of Brexit.He said: “The state of our economy, defence and environment, the need to level up our society, control immigration and restore Britain’s standing in the world. None of these issues can be honestly addressed in isolation from our relationship with Europe. Yet Europe is the no-go area.”Lord Michael Heseltine warns election campaign will be ‘dishonest’ (Aaron Chown/PA) More

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      Nigel Farage refuses to back down over British Muslim comments in clash with Robert Peston

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      Nigel Farage defended his comments claiming young Muslims “do not subscribe to British values” in a heated clash during a live interview with Robert Peston.The former Ukip leader, who claimed there are British Muslims who “loathe” much of what the country stands for, was accused of alienating them by the ITV political journalist on Wednesday (29 May).Mr Peston suggested during the clash: “What we should be doing is building bridges between communities, not alienating them.”“So ignoring it – brush it under the carpet,” Mr Farage replied. More

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      Jon Stewart calls rejection of UK candidate for liking one of his sketches ‘dumbest thing since Boris Johnson’

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      The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekdayYour briefing on the latest headlines from across the USThe US late-night satirist Jon Stewart has responded after Britain’s Labour Party blocked left-wing academic Faiza Shaheen from standing as a candidate in the upcoming general election for liking a number of potentially offensive social media posts, one of which featured a clip from The Daily Show.“This is the dumbest thing The UK has done since electing Boris Johnson… what the actual f****…,” the comedian wrote on X when he was notified of the controversy.The clip in question, dating from July 2014, sees Stewart introducing a segment about an Israeli ground offensive – during the 2014 Gaza War – at which point he is immediately swarmed and rebuked by four of the Comedy Central show’s correspondents, barracking him as a “self-hating Jew” for daring to question the country’s actions.“Look, obviously there are many strong opinions on this issue but just merely mentioning Israel or questioning in any way the effectiveness or humanity of Israel’s policy is not the same thing as being pro-Hamas,” Stewart says, before being shouted down again, at which point he abandons the subject and pivots to talking about Ukraine, a matter about which the correspondents concede they have no strong feelings. Ukraine was also in the news in 2014 after Russia seized the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.The account that posted the tweet liked by Ms Shaheen, which featured the clip, also included a commentary attacking the “Israel lobby” that read: “You can’t easily ignore them, because those are not just random people, they tend to be friends or people who move in the same circles as you. Those people are mobilized by professional organizations, but to a large extent, that is organic.”Ms Shaheen is understood to have been called to a meeting with a panel of Labour’s National Executive Committee on Tuesday in which they highlighted posts on her X account that they said raised questions about her suitability to stand as its candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green in north London.According to Ms Shaheen, she then received an email on Wednesday evening in which she was told she would be barred from standing for the party – despite having previously contested the same seat in the 2019 election – in which she was told that her running would “frustrate Labour’s purpose”.The Independent has reached out to the Labour Party for comment.Faiza Shaheen, pictured on the campaign trail with former leader Jeremy Corbyn More

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      Worker pulls faces as Rishi Sunak says ‘life has been difficult’ in election campaign speech

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      A worker was caught on camera pulling faces as she listened to Rishi Sunak deliver a Conservative general election campaign speech during his tour of Devon.The prime minister was delivering a speech to workers at a defence firm on Wednesday (29 May).As Mr Sunak said “It’s been difficult the last few years”, the woman in the shot of the camera can be seen pulling a face.Discussing the Covid pandemic and cost-of-living crisis, the Conservative leader added: “I hope you saw throughout that I had your back.”The woman can again be seen pulling a face in response. More

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      Timeline of Diane Abbott’s suspension: From her comments on racism to Labour ‘election ban’

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      Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe Labour party has become embroiled in a political row following the fallout around veteran MP Diane Abbott’s readmission to the party – and lack of clarity over whether she can still stand for it.After being suspended from Labour for just over a year, Ms Abbott was readmitted to the party in late May, once again becoming a Labour MP.Ms Abbott has represented Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987, securing a majority of over 33,000 at the last general election.For the latest political updates in the run-up to the General Election, follow The Independent’s live coverageLabour has not confirmed who its candidate will be for the constituency, leading to fears from supporters of Ms Abbott that she may still be deselected, despite her readmission into the party.Diane Abbott at a rally in Hackney, in front of a placard that reads “I stand with Diane”, March 15, 2024 More

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      Faiza Shaheen speaks out after Labour blocks candidacy in general election

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      Faiza Shaheen has spoken out after Labour did not endorse her for the Chingford and Woodford Green seat in north east London.Reports suggested the economist would be suspended by the party after she allegedly liked a series of posts on X that downplayed antisemitism accusations.Ms Shaheen says she was informed of the decision shortly before appearing on Newsnight on Wednesday, 29 May.”They briefed the press before they even had the decency to call me… I’m so shocked right now,” she added.A Labour spokesperson told The Independent: “The NEC has not endorsed Faiza Shaheen as candidate for Chingford and Woodford Green. She will not be the Labour candidate.” More

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      Jeremy Hunt challenged over consecutive Tory VAT increases in tense live interview

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      Jeremy Hunt was confronted over the Conservatives’ increases to VAT over the years during a live interview with Nick Robinson on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday, 30 May.It came as the Tories and Labour ruled out hikes if either party wins the general election.“I am not pretending that there haven’t been times when Conservative governments haven’t put up taxes,” Mr Hunt said.Margaret Thatcher’s government increased VAT from 8 per cent to 15 per cent in 1979.It was then increased to 17.5 per cent, remaining at this figure until Labour lowered it to 15 per cent in December 2008, before raising it to 17.5 per cent a year later. More