UK Politics

The Government should introduce a tax on large companies which use artificial intelligence to replace workers, an MP has said, over fears about the impact on employment and tax revenues.Neil Duncan-Jordan (Poole) said the proposed measure would help replace income tax and national insurance sums that would be lost from the Treasury under the increased use of AI in the workplace.The Independent MP added it would also potentially disincentivise the large-scale replacement of people with machines.Analysts at jobs website Indeed have said UK university graduates are facing the toughest job market since 2018, with increased use of AI further narrowing down opportunities, in a report earlier this year.Meanwhile, adverts for an AI company were seen on the London Underground this summer, urging commuters to “stop hiring humans, the era of AI employees is here”.He told the PA news agency: “This is not about somebody who uses AI to produce an itinerary for a meeting they’re having. This is about large scale use of AI which reduces employment prospects for workers in the long term.“It’s about companies who used to employ 100 people to do a particular job don’t employ anybody any more. We would lose the national insurance from the employee and the employer, obviously, we would also lose the income tax from the employee.“The company would be massively gaining from that, so it was an idea of how do you try to balance the loss of income that AI could bring, with the company’s desire to lay off workers.“It shouldn’t be seen as a zero-sum option that they have, to think ‘we can just do this and make loads of profit off the backs of people we’ve made unemployed’.”Mr Duncan-Jordan had the Labour whip withdrawn earlier this year, along with three colleagues, after he rebelled against the Government’s welfare reforms.On Tuesday the Treasury dismissed his proposal to introduce a national insurance equivalent for each “AI agent” that performs tasks previously done by a person.Treasury minister Dan Tomlinson had said: “Employer National Insurance Contributions (NICs) are charged based on employee earnings. As AI agents do not receive earnings, it is not clear on what basis employer NICs would be levied.”However, the MP said any tax should be seen as a levy rather than a direct mirror of national insurance, which was first established in 1911 to act as a social security system for workers.Mr Duncan-Jordan said his former job as a Unison regional officer had made him concerned for AI’s impact on jobs.He said: “I’m very very conscious of needing to have that proper balance in the workplace between the use of widespread automation, AI, and protecting jobs and careers. AI’s not just a blue collar threat, it’s a white collar threat too. It’s across the piece, and everyone should be concerned about that.”Polling published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in August found more than half of UK adults are worried about the impact of AI on their job.The chief executive of BT warned earlier this year that AI could lead to more job cuts at the telecoms firm.Internationally Microsoft and Amazon have laid off thousands of workers as the tech companies shift towards spending on AI.Mr Duncan-Jordan said: “This idea is not anti-business, it’s not anti-technology.“It’s about recognising that we have to be the masters of the technological revolution, not the other way round.“We have to be in control of that revolution, otherwise it will take us over, and then we will see lots of people being laid off, and then wondering why our revenues have gone down as a state and lots of people aren’t working.”He continued: “I’m really keen that [AI’s] impact on society is positive rather than negative, and that’s why things like AI levies, employment levies, whatever we call them, are considered, yeah, as a way of mitigating against wholesale introduction, without any protections.“I’m not saying, don’t bring it in. Let’s have a serious, grown up debate about the impact that that’s going to have on our society, on our workforce, on our income.” More

David Lammy was unable to say whether any other asylum seekers had been accidentally freed from prison since Hadush Kebatu’s bungled release – just minutes before it was revealed that another prisoner is on the run after mistakenly being freed in London.Asked five times during Prime Minister’s Questions whether any foreign national offenders had been accidentally released from prison in the last few weeks, the rattled deputy prime minister – standing in for Sir Keir Starmer – repeatedly dodged the question. As the heated back and forth came to a close, it emerged that a 24-year-old Algerian national was released in error on 29 October, just days after sex offender migrant Hadush Kebatu was wrongly freed from HMP Chelmsford instead of being sent to an immigration detention centre.Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge, standing in for Kemi Badenoch, asked Mr Lammy to “reassure the House that since Kebatu was released that no other asylum-seeking offender has been accidentally let out of prison”.David Lammy became increasingly rattled as he was pressed on accidental prison releases More

David Lammy put on a poppy midway through Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (5 November).As he filled in for Sir Keir Starmer at the despatch box, the deputy prime minister attached a poppy to his jacket after being handed one by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who was sitting next to him.He explained: “I bought a new suit this morning because my Godmother said she would be watching… I am very grateful to the honourable member for Sunderland South for ensuring that, despite wearing a new suit, I have managed to put my poppy on.” More

George Osborne has warned Rachel Reeves that it is “difficult to break a manifesto promise”, after she laid the groundwork for sweeping tax rises at the Budget. The former chancellor described the government as “constrained by its promise” after Labour’s general election manifesto pledged to not increase VAT, national insurance or income tax. On Monday, Ms Reeves signalled she would be ready to break the party’s promises, as she committed to putting the national interest above “political expediency”. Mr Osborne told the Treasury committee on Tuesday that he thinks “tax rises are inevitable” but praised Ms Reeves for laying out the rules under which she would make her fiscal decisions. In the session centred around the Budget on November 26, he told the cross-party group of MPs that he believes there should be a mix of tax rises and spending cuts becuase “it will be very one sided and a mistaken budget, if it’s all on tax rises”. ( More

Watch live as David Lammy, Britain’s deputy prime minister, faces Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday (5 November).The justice secretary will face off against the Tories at the despatch box, standing in for Sir Keir Starmer who is travelling to Brazil for the COP30 climate summit. It is his first time filling in for Sir Keir since becoming deputy prime minister.Mr Lammy will be up against Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge, who will stand in for Kemi Badenoch during the weekly grilling.It comes after Rachel Reeves refused to rule out manifesto-breaking tax rises at the Budget on 26 November.During the speech in Downing Street on Tuesday (4 November), Ms Reeves hinted she will take painful decisions later this month as she said “easy answers” to fix economic issues would be “irresponsible”.Mr Lammy is likely to be grilled by the Tories on the tax hikes alluded to by the Chancellor in her speech, which the Tory leader slammed as a “laundry list of excuses”. More

Reform UK treasurer Nick Candy’s company should receive more than £4.6 million in damages after being lied to “repeatedly and determinedly” to invest in a technology start-up, a High Court judge has ruled.Candy Ventures Sarl (CVS), a portfolio of companies founded by Mr Candy, took legal action against Dutch businessman Robert Bonnier over allegations he “lied” to “deceive” it into investing around 7.5 million euro (£6.5 million) in Aaqua BV, which he directs.Barristers for the company told a trial last month that Mr Bonnier claimed the firm would be the “next Facebook” and that Apple and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) were set to invest one billion US dollars in Aaqua.This led to CVS signing three agreements with Aaqua, which saw it swap shares in podcasting firm Audioboom for “worthless” shares in Aaqua.The company asked a judge to rescind the investment or order Mr Bonnier and Aaqua to pay £5.7 million in damages.On Wednesday, Mr Justice Bright ordered CVS was entitled to £4,623,919 in damages, as well as interest, which must be paid within 28 days.In a 30-page ruling, the judge said: “During the trial, Mr Bonnier confirmed that he was not involved in active negotiations with either Apple or LVMH representatives concerning imminent investment in Aaqua.“Thus, I am satisfied that the representations were false, and he knew them to be false when he made them.“I am satisfied that Mr Bonnier intended CVS to rely on his representation.”He continued: “I am also satisfied that the representations in fact induced CVS to enter into the three agreements, and then to invest in Aaqua.”Mr Bonnier represented himself at trial and, in August, was blocked from defending the claim for breaching court orders.He told the court in London that while he “overstated the prospects of an investment” into Aaqua, he did not believe CVS would “rely” on it.But Mr Justice Bright said: “The only explanation for Mr Bonnier lying so repeatedly and determinedly was in order to secure CVS’s investment.”He continued: “The defendants had no realistic way of attracting investment, or of generating income, except by misrepresenting the position to any potential investor.”At a hearing dealing with the consequences of the judgment on Wednesday, Mr Bonnier failed in a bid to delay having to pay damages.He also told the hearing that he had “personally spent £3.5 million” on the legal battle.In written submissions for the trial, Jonathan Nash KC, for CVS, said that Aaqua, which is now insolvent, was established in the Netherlands in 2020 to develop a “new social media software application”.Mr Bonnier was claimed to have told Mr Candy and Steven Smith, CVS’s executive director, that Apple and LVMH were set to invest in the start-up, which Mr Smith told the court was “completely fundamental” to CVS’s decision to invest.CVS agreed in February 2021 to transfer 1.5 million shares in Audioboom to Aaqua, worth around £6.5 million.It also agreed to purchase 15,000 Aaqua shares, which were believed to be worth around 7.5 million euro (£6.5 million), but Mr Nash said the value of these was “false and artificial, induced, as it was, by Aaqua and Mr Bonnier’s fraud”.Mr Candy, who was announced as Reform UK’s treasurer in December last year, owns 90% of CVS.Giving evidence, he said that Mr Bonnier’s “blatant lies” about Apple and LVMH’s investment were “a very good story”, but stated: “It is disgraceful what has happened.”He said: “I look stupid here now in court, but he was so believable and not just believable to investors, but believable to employees who left high-paid jobs.”He continued: “We want justice for them.”In written submissions, Mr Bonnier admitted “selling his aspirations for Aaqua very enthusiastically, and occasionally perhaps going too far in those efforts”.But he said he had a “proven track record of ‘pulling off the impossible’ and creating substantial value for shareholders”.Following the judgment, Mr Candy said in a statement that the ruling was a “clear vindication”.He said: “It gave me no satisfaction to come to court.“But this was about accountability and the truth and for justice to prevail.“I pursued this claim not only to recover losses, but to expose fraudulent behaviour that has hurt many others who lacked the means to fight back.“The scale of the harm done by Mr Bonnier is enormous and could not simply be ignored.” More

Getting enough teachers for a potential new qualification in AI may be a challenge, experts have warned, after the Government unveiled its planned reforms to the school curriculum.As part of its response to the final report of the curriculum and assessment review, the Government has said it will explore developing a new qualification in data science and AI at level 3.Experts have welcomed the potential new qualification, but warned there may be issues around having enough expert teachers to deliver it.Myles McGinley, managing director of Cambridge OCR, said: “A new qualification focusing on AI and data science could provide real opportunities for young people, and also reflects demand from employers for better skills in these areas.“One of the main challenges here will be capacity, particularly around the supply of expert teachers and examiners.“We know that a shortage of appropriately qualified teachers already affects access to Computer Science.”Alongside the potential new qualification, the Government said the refreshed curriculum will teach AI literacy, and it will replace the current computer science GCSE with a broader computing one.Jon Andrews, head of analysis and director for school system and performance at the Education Policy Institute, also warned that if the Government wants to introduce an AI qualification “it will need to ensure it has a teaching workforce that is skilled and confident enough to teach that content”.He added: “This is part of a wider challenge in the use of AI in education. While schools themselves are working hard to get a grip on the tools they use, both in administration and in teaching and learning, the evidence of effectiveness is currently limited.”In the latest published figures for trainee teacher recruitment in 2024/25, just 37% of the Government’s target for computer science teachers were recruited.However, the National Foundation for Educational Research forecast the DfE would hit 79% of its target for 2025/26.The Government will also strengthen financial education, including by making citizenship compulsory for primary age pupils in key stages 1 and 2 to start this at an early age.MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis welcomed the focus on financial education, but added it will need to come with resources for schools and teacher training.Concepts like calculating interest will first be introduced in maths, the Government said in its response to the review.Interim chief executive of academy trust GLF Schools James Nicholson welcomed the proposals for more opportunity to study AI and finance to help students thrive in future careers.The final report of the review, commissioned by Labour last year, has also recommended the Government cut exam volume at key stage 4 by 10%.The DfE said it would work with the regulator Ofqual and exam boards to reduce GCSE exam time by 2.5 to three hours for the average student, while making sure qualifications remained valid.The review also recommended new maths and English tests to be taken during year 8 to help teachers identify learning gaps early, mandatory citizenship in primary schools, and overhauling the key stage 2 test of grammar, punctuation and spelling.In its response, the DfE confirmed it would accept the review’s recommendation to scrap the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) performance measure introduced by Michael Gove, and would introduce a statutory entitlement for all GCSE pupils to study triple science.Curriculum review leader Professor Becky Francis told reporters “we are an international outlier in the number of exams and the volume of exams we have aged 16 – only Singapore is anywhere near us”.“So we do want to try and bring that down,” she said.“It’s a very intense and elongated time, as anyone who’s been a parent of GCSE-age pupils knows, but we don’t want to trade standards and reliability.”“The amount of time that young people spend in exams at key stage 4 has become excessive,” the report said.The Government aims to publish the revised national curriculum by spring 2027, to be implemented for first teaching from September 2028.Citizenship would become compulsory in primary schools to ensure all pupils learn financial and media literacy, about democracy and government, and access climate education.Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “It has been over a decade since the national curriculum was updated, and it’s more crucial than ever that young people are equipped to face the challenges of today, so they can seize the exciting opportunities that life has to offer.”The Government launched a review of curriculum and assessment in schools and colleges just weeks after winning the general election in July 2024.A panel of experts considered a range of evidence, including more than 7,000 responses from the public. More

Cabinet minister Bridget Phillipson has doubled down after the chancellor issued a stark warning over the state of Britain’s ailing economy, saying she would make tough choices to put it back on a secure footing in the long term. The education secretary admitted there are “major problems” plaguing the economy, saying that the government will do what is “necessary” to remedy them. It comes after Rachel Reeves put the country on notice that sweeping tax rises were coming in her Budget, warning “we will all have to contribute” to building a new future for Britain in a major Downing Street address on Tuesday. Promising to put the national interest above “political expediency”, the chancellor signalled she is ready to break Labour’s manifesto commitment not to raise income tax, personal national insurance or VAT. Bridget Phillipson said the government takes its manifesto pledges seriously More