UK Politics

Rachel Reeves’s former top adviser has joined leading economists in warning that her decision to abandon income tax rises in the upcoming Budget and pursue smaller interventions will “overcomplicate” the system.The chancellor was widely expected to hike income tax in her fiscal plans later this month to fill a significant hole in the public finances. But the Financial Times has reported she has “ripped up” her earlier proposals and will look at different ways to shore up the fiscal deficit.Prime minister Keir Starmer and chancellor Rachel Reeves have come under pressure in the lead-up to the Budget on 26 November More

An income tax rise has reportedly been ruled out by Rachel Reeves in a last-minute turnaround ahead of the Budget, amid fears that breaking Labour’s manifesto pledge could anger voters and backbench Labour MPs. The chancellor appeared to pave the way for significant tax increases in a major pre-Budget speech earlier this month, as she said “easy answers” were off the table.It is the starkest warning yet from the chancellor, who has been signalling over the past few months that hard choices will have to be made.But the Financial Times reported that she has now abandoned plans to raise income tax, which was communicated to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on Wednesday. While an income tax rise would help bridge the fiscal black hole, it would break the party’s promise not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT. Many economists predict that substantial tax rises can be expected in the Budget, as Ms Reeves looks to counteract the country’s ailing economic performance.Researchers from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) have found that the chancellor will need to find at least £22bn to make up a shortfall in the government’s finances, as rising borrowing costs and weak growth forecasts drastically reduce her room for manoeuvre.Chancellor Rachel Reeves will oversee Labour’s second Budget on 26 November More

Rachel Reeves has abandoned plans to break Labour’s manifesto pledge and raise income tax at this month’s Budget, it has been reported.The chancellor had been expected to hike income tax in the face of a yawning gap in her spending plans, hinting as recently as Monday that the alternative would be “deep cuts” to public investment.But the Financial Times has reported that she has now abandoned those plans over fears they could anger both voters and backbench Labour MPs.The decision was communicated to the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) on Wednesday, when the chancellor submitted a list of “major measures” to be included in her Budget on 26 November, according to the newspaper.An income tax rise would help her bridge a fiscal black hole estimated by some economists to be as much as £50bn, but it would also break Labour’s clear manifesto pledge not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.Rachel Reeves may ditch plans to hike income tax at this month’s Budget More

The UK’s prison system is in a state of crisis, jeopardising efforts to rehabilitate offenders and curb crime rates, a committee of MPs has warned. A report published on Friday by the Justice Committee highlighted severe overcrowding, chronic staff shortages, and appalling living conditions as key factors undermining the goal of reducing reoffending.The committee stated it was “unsurprising” that 80 per cent of crime in England and Wales constitutes reoffending, given that prisoners are “languishing” in their cells due to capacity issues. This environment means half of all inmates are not engaged in education or work programmes. Furthermore, two-thirds of offenders remain unemployed or out of education six months after their release, underscoring the systemic failures.The findings come as ministers are facing pressure after high-profile cases of prisoners being released by mistake, which have been described as a symptom of the system under “horrendous strain”.Chair of the committee Andy Slaughter said: “Prison rehabilitation and efforts to break the cycle of reoffending aren’t working and cannot succeed in a system which is facing critical pressures on so many fronts.“The committee’s report reveals an overcrowded, short-staffed, crumbling prison estate where the long-term focus on rehabilitation is often lost in an over-stretched environment which is grappling day to day to function.“Ministers must act fast to fix the basics and give greater attention to purposeful rehabilitation programmes across jails.“Continuing with a cyclical system in crisis mode which offers little real opportunity to turn around prisoners’ lives is a false economy.”Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith and chair of the Justice Committee (Victoria Jones/PA) More

Sir Keir Starmer could face a leadership challenge as early as the new year, as Labour MPs claim the prime minister is now unable to sack his chief of staff because it would hasten his own departure.In a bid to draw a line under the turmoil that has engulfed his government this week, Sir Keir insisted he had been assured that no one in Downing Street was responsible for the briefing against his health secretary, Wes Streeting, on Tuesday.The briefing, which is being blamed on chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, suggested that Mr Streeting was preparing to launch a leadership coup. But even as the prime minister sought to end the row by apologising to Mr Streeting, calls for sackings continued to grow.Energy secretary Ed Miliband, who has also been accused of being on manoeuvres to replace Sir Keir, repeated demands by Mr Streeting that the person responsible be sacked.Mr Miliband, asked whether the prime minister should sack whoever is found to be responsible for the briefings, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Of course he should.”Meanwhile, another minister said: “He should sack [Mr McSweeney] but we all know he can’t. They are locked together in mutual survival.”Others said Mr McSweeney was “probably unsackable” but added that the prime minister “should be very worried”.Another set of briefings against Sir Keir’s director of communications, Tim Allan, appears to suggest that a civil war has broken out among senior figures in Downing Street.The prime minister says he has confidence in his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney More

The former chairman of NatWest Bank has launched a broadside against Rachel Reeves, claiming it appears as though she is doing everything she can to prevent economic growth. Economist Sir Howard Davies’ criticism of the chancellor comes less than two weeks ahead of a crucial budget which many believe could make or break the government. While Keir Starmer and Ms Reeves came into office claiming that economic growth was their number one mission, the economy has stagnated, and new figures published on Thursday show UK economic growth slowed to 0.1 per cent for the past three months. Sir Howard blamed the policies she has brought in, including increasing national insurance contributions on employers and new employment rights, for the dire state of Britain’s economy. ( More

A Reform council leader has jumped to the defence of a party councillor who was criticised over social media posts he made about the police and black women.In now-deleted posts on X written before he was elected onto Staffordshire Country Council, Councillor Peter Mason called the police “a bunch of politically indoctrinated British hating scum”. In another post, from March 2024, he wrote: “What a surprise a statue of a fat arsed black woman.” After the posts came to light, Councillor Mason, who is also the cabinet member for highways at the council, apologised and said he regretted his choice of words. In the statement, he sent to The Independent, he added that the posts were written during a difficult personal time when he was impacted by grief and redundancy.However, political opponents at the council have called for him to step down, including Conservative group leader Philip White, who described the posts as “abhorrent”.In response, Ian Cooper, leader of Staffordshire County Council, sent an email to Reform councillors to defend Councillor Mason, claiming he had come under “targeted political attack” since standing for Reform. Peter Mason, who is cabinet member of highways at Staffordshire County Council, has apologised for the posts on X, written before he was elected More

Ed Miliband responds to Labour coup rumoursThe prime minister’s aides have insisted none of them have engaged in briefing against cabinet ministers, as he warned his senior team they will be fired if they do so.Sir Keir Starmer reiterated on Thursday that he would never sanction briefings against ministers and said they were “unacceptable”.Starmer’s warning comes after Wes Streeting brushed off repeated questions about the anonymous attacks on him as “silly Westminster soap opera stuff”.The prime minister said he had been “assured it didn’t come from Downing Street”, but made clear that if anyone falls below standards expected “there will be consequences”.The prime minister apologised to Mr Streeting after reports that he was plotting to oust Sir Keir earlier this week, sparking the eruption of a civil war within the Labour Party.Concern around leadership has deepened ahead of chancellor Rachel Reeves’s Budget on 26 November, as the UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent in the three months to September, according to the Office of National Statistics. This is a marked slowdown from the 0.3 per cent in the previous quarter.Who is Morgan McSweeney?Sir Keir Starmer has said he “of course” retains full confidence in his under-pressure chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.Mr McSweeney has been blamed by some within Labour for the fallout from the attacks on Wes Streeting, which were an apparent ploy to warn off potential leadership contenders.The Labour Together campaign group was set up by McSweeney, and is credited with toppling Jeremy Corbyn as leader and replacing him with Starmer.An influential figure in the Labour Party, he is also credited with securing their landslide victory last year.( More