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 moreCloseThe Treasury is reportedly considering plans to raise Inheritance Tax at the Budget, as part of an attempt to raise £40bn and plug a hole in the public finances. According to the BBC, the chancellor is considering multiple changes to the tax, which is charged at 40 per cent on the property, possessions and money of somebody who has died above a £325,000 threshold.Any changes to Inheritance Tax would most significantly impact the wealthy, with the Institute for Fiscal Studies estimating that just 5 per cent of all deaths incurred the charge in 2022–23.It raises about £7bn a year for the government and includes a number of reliefs, including exemptions for gifts given when a person is alive. But a recent YouGov poll found just 27 per cent of the public would support a rise in inheritance tax, while 60 per cent oppose the idea. Other polls have consistently shown Britons consider inheritance tax to be unfair. The Treasury is looking to raise as much as £40 billion at 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 moreCloseDowning Street has slapped down Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope after he claimed Kemi Badenoch is “preoccupied with her children”.Weighing in on the Conservative Party leadership race in a television interview, the MP for Christchurch had claimed it was impossible to be an opposition leader while spending “all your time” with your family.Asked about the remarks, which sparked widespread backlash, the prime minister’s official spokesperson said on Friday: “His comments are never directed at men or fathers, bizarrely.”Sir Christopher Chope in the House of Commons, Westminster (House of Commons/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 moreCloseRachel Reeves is considering around £3bn of cuts to the welfare bill over the next four years by restricting access to sickness benefits, it is understood, as the chancellor embarks on a brutal cost-cutting mission to fill a so-called £22 billion black hole left by the Tories.Under Conservative proposals, welfare eligibility would have been tightened so that around 400,000 more people who are signed off long-term would be assessed as needing to prepare for employment by 2028/29, as well as being entitled to £260 a month less in benefits. The OBR estimated the reforms would cut around £3bn from the welfare bill. According to The Telegraph, Ms Reeves has agreed to honour the £3bn savings, but work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall will decide exactly how the system will be changed to save the same amount.Asked why Labour was pressing ahead with plans made by the previous Conservative government to reform work capability rules, work and pensions minister Alison McGovern said the department “has to make savings because we are in a terrible financial situation.”But she added: “To be clear, on that point we will bring forward our own reforms because the last 14 years have been a complete failure when it comes to employment.”Chancellor Rachel Reeves giving a speech at the Treasury (Jonathan Brady/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 moreCloseLondon primary schools are being encouraged to introduce healthy relationship classes as part of a new attempt to tackle the influence of Andrew Tate and combat violence against women.Teachers will be provided with online courses and toolkits to help them run classes and workshops in every school, Sadiq Khan announced on Friday. The move comes as research shows that young people are increasingly being exposed to misogynist influencers on social media.One in three young males have a positive view of Tate, polling from Savanta showed, while one in ten children have watched pornography by the time they are nine, research conducted by the Children’s Commissioner last year indicated. The Savanta survey, which spoke to 1,200 16-25 year-olds in June 2023, showed that 32 per cent of young men say they have a positive view of him, compared to just nine per cent of young women. Tate, who has described himself as the “king of toxic masculinity”, has millions of followers on social media and regularly expresses extreme views about women. He is currently facing charges of human trafficking, rape and exploiting women in Romania – allegations which he denies.The toolkit is aimed at teaching pupils about healthy and respectful relationships as part a wider attempt to tackle violence against women and girls.On Friday, the London mayor wrote to every primary school in London to highlight the importance of pupils learning about equality and respect, saying there has “never been a more important time to counter the pernicious influence of those who preach misogyny online”.He said: “Young people must learn about respectful relationships before they start seeing content from individuals like Andrew Tate online.”The new £1million toolkit, funded by the mayor and developed by educational experts Tender, uses workshops, drama and interactive sessions in the classroom to teach pupils between ages 9 and 11 what harmful behaviour looks like.The toolkit will be used by primary school teachers and supported by specially trained workshop leaders, City Hall said.Mr Khan said: “It’s never too early to start educating young Londoners about the need to treat one another fairly and kindly. And it’s important for young boys and girls to learn about equality and respect for one another.London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced a new healthy relationships toolkit 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 moreCloseLess than a third of voters have trust in the government as Labour’s woes intensify, according to a new poll.The Conservatives have also closed the gap with Labour to its lowest level since April 2022, when Boris Johnson was still prime minister. The Techne UK weekly tracker poll for The Independent will pile pressure on Sir Keir Starmer as he prepares for the toughest test of his premiership so far – this month’s Budget. Already a cabinet row over swingeing spending cuts has erupted into the open, even as the party tries to move on from controversies over freebies, tickets to Taylor Swift concerts and the decision to strip millions of pensioners of their winter fuel allowance.In a chaotic few weeks, Sir Keir has also been forced to sack his chief of staff Sue Gray and faced accusations he will break a manifesto pledge with tax rises in the Budget. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer is preparing for the toughest test of his premiership so far, 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 moreCloseWith a new Labour government in power and the first autumn statement on the horizon, we wanted to hear your economic priorities. When we asked what you thought should be included in the budget, responses from Independent readers varied widely.Many of you highlighted the need for a simpler, fairer tax system, with suggestions ranging from ensuring tax equality on capital gains and inherited wealth to introducing minimum VAT rates and increasing sin taxes.Others took a different approach, proposing that Britons contribute more directly to the services they use, such as introducing charges for GP visits or A&E attendance to alleviate pressure on the NHS.Here’s a closer look at your suggestions:Radical changesA complete overhaul of NI [national insurance] and ICT [investment tax credit].Currently, employment is taxed twice while unearned income is not.NI and ICT need to be combined into a single tax.Renters will pay more and workers less.The argument against this has always been that OAPs don’t pay NI. This can simply be addressed by adjusting the effective rate of the new combined tax for over 65s.Of course, such a change is too radical for any government and won’t be debated until the public begins to question why we pay so much more tax on earnings from work than other income.Ian Robinson‘Tax the most important factor’Tax is the most important matter facing this Labour Government.40bn is the right number to go for because this will start making a difference in defence, junior doctors’ and teachers’ salaries, potholes in roads, litter everywhere, local council funding, etc.You have to go where the money is. The 2024 rich survey has 220,000 people in UK with assets of $30mn or more ($30 mn is today’s definition of rich. 50 years ago it was $1mn. By 2035 it will be $200mn. Consisting of inherited wealth like the Duke of Westminster, Rausings (these pay little or no UK tax), tech (Autonomy – bless Lynch) PE, a few City bankers and lawyers). That adds up to 5.5 trillion pounds. A tax of 1 per cent or 2 per cent would go a long way and would hardly be missed by these people. I think 40 bn this year and every year is doable and necessary.gileschance‘I want to buy British’Ultra-low tax (green) manufacturing hubs with super low rents for them spread across the country. Almost everything I buy now mostly comes from China – there are excruciatingly few products seemingly made here. I want to buy British to keep the money in our country, but I can’t if basic essentials made in Britain are borderline extinct!Also: inventors hubs to help British people realise their ideas for useful products.Foxicus‘Wealth tax’Reeves should equalise capital gains tax and allowances with income tax for fairness with the proviso of indexation or taper relief on gains to allow for inflation. This will put those who derive income from capital gains on par with those who pay tax on employed and self-employed earnings. Cap agricultural relief on Inheritance tax at around £3 million – this would exempt and protect small family farms but remove the exemption to the super-rich who use investment in agricultural holdings to shelter from inheritance tax. A wealth tax on those with £10 million plus in assets combined with an exit tax on those that choose to desert the country to avoid tax.Kernow‘Charge to see a doctor’Make pension relief fair by giving everyone the same tax benefits. I suggest a 20 per cent relief.Limit the tax-free lump sum allowance to £100,000.There are probably very few people who benefit from the higher number.Scrap free prescriptions for anyone under pension age. If you’re really sick then it would continue as is, if recommended by a clinician.Charge £50 for every visit to see a doctor and the same for A&E at a hospital. All of these charges should be ploughed back into the NHS and used to finance working more closely with the private health sector. Recognise that the standalone NHS is a thing of the past.Going the other way, increase the income tax-free allowance in line with inflation.Charge a toll to drive on motorways, as per most countries.BlueButton‘Go back to self-certification’Revoke IR35 (off-payroll working rules). Causes chaos in resourcing for projects (therefore impacting productivity) and a load of red tape. Osbourne was heavily lobbied by the big consulting firms to bring in this monstrosity. Get rid of it and go back to self-certification which worked perfectly well.JonathanR‘More tax tiers’Up personal allowance with more tax tiers; lower tax levels for young people and disabled; treat bonuses as income; capital gains on second plus homes; close inheritance tax loopholes for super rich Iike the Grosvenors (inherited £8 billion in trusts, paid no tax); make large tax avoidance illegal including using offshore sites; any squillionaire like owner of Pimlico Plumbing boss leaving England because of government asking for reasonable payment of tax, ban them from returning! Good riddance! Cut financial support for royals who already have stacks of cash and land. Reduce rather than increase the tax burden on big employers. Financially support the arts. Tax breaks for longer-term investors in the UK providing training including apprenticeships and employment including for the disabled.Benitas‘Tax simplification’Massive tax simplification. The current tax code is over 20,000 pages long. There is no way it is effective. It’s full of distortions and ‘nudges’, and other weirdness. Neither HMRC nor the treasury can know what’s going on. In many ways it’s more valuable to get a good accountant than invest.Fix that mess, simplify, a lot.9Diamonds‘Minimum VAT’Introduce a minimum 1 per cent VAT collection rate across everything, but raise the sole trader tax allowance.SaintEtienne1961‘Spread the net wide’Spread the net wide – that way you get more feathers with less squawking.Up the sin taxes: booze, tobacco, gambling, fuel, flights.Up tax on dividends and capital gains.Mileage tax on electric cars to pay for roads.Stamp duty on investment transactions.Revise council house bands, so council tax better reflects value.Spend more on HMRC to reduce evasion.Philadelphian‘A tax on private health that goes to the NHS’Huge companies like Amazon, Shell etc MUST pay their proper taxes.Stop private health companies abusing the NHS: i.e a tax added that goes to the NHS.No more money for the royals. End subsidised food and drink for MPs. Former PMs to lose perks. Tax on private jets.flashfloydSome of the comments have been edited for this article. You can read the full discussion in the comments section of the original article here.All you have to do is sign up, submit your question and register your details – then you can then take part in the discussion. You can also sign up by clicking ‘log in’ on the top right-hand corner of the screen.Make sure you adhere to our community guidelines, which can be found here. For a full guide on how to comment click here. More