UK Politics

Rachel Reeves has been urged not to raise taxes in her autumn budget, with Britain’s biggest retailers warning it could trigger higher shop prices and have a knock-on effect on both household incomes and the economy.A report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) found that as many as 56 per cent of retail finance chiefs – representing more than 9,000 stores – are “pessimistic” about trading conditions over the next 12 months. It comes after a number of major retailers, including Iceland, Poundland and New Look, announced store closures amid the fallout from the chancellor’s decision to hike national insurance for employers in her first budget. The BRC’s chief executive, Helen Dickinson, urged the chancellor not to “add further costs to retailers and high streets” at the upcoming budget, warning it will “be the British public who suffer from the knock-on impact on inflation”. Price-matching has become common for some supermarkets (Alamy/PA)“Retail was squarely in the firing line of the last Budget, with the industry hit by £7bn in new costs and taxes”, she said. “Retailers have done everything they can to shield their customers from higher costs, but given their slim margins and the rising cost of employing staff, price rises were inevitable.” Ms Dickinson added: “The consequences are now being felt by households as many struggle to cope with the rising cost of their weekly shop. “It is up to the chancellor to decide whether to fan the flames of inflation, or to support the everyday economy by backing the high street and the local jobs they provide.” It comes amid growing questions over how the government will fill a black hole in the public finances after a series of U-turns and spending pledges, including a £5bn U-turn on welfare cuts. Get a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTGet a free fractional share worth up to £100.Capital at risk.Terms and conditions apply.Go to websiteADVERTISEMENTMinisters have already squeezed significant savings out of their departments in cuts that were unveiled at June’s spending review, meaning there is now a mounting expectation that the chancellor will be forced to raise taxes instead.The BRC’s report warned of rising food inflation, predicting that it would hit 6 per cent by the end of the year – up from four per cent at present – in a “significant challenge” to household budgets in the run-up to Christmas. Some 85 per cent of chief financial officers said their businesses had been forced to raise prices as a consequence of the last budget’s raising of employer national insurance and the national living wage, while two thirds (65 per cent) predicted further rises in the coming year.Other than cost increases, 42 per cent of chief financial officers said they had frozen recruitment, while 38 per cent said they had reduced job numbers in-store.This was reflected in the official job figures, with almost 100,000 fewer retail jobs in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year, the BRC said.There are growing questions over how the chancellor will fill a black hole in the public finances at the next budget More

Nigel Farage has secured his latest defection from the Conservative Party, with ex-Tory MP Adam Holloway announcing he has become a member of Reform UK. The Reform leader will welcome Mr Holloway, a 60-year-old ex-army officer who was MP for Gravesham until July last year when he lost his seat to Labour, as the latest in a line of defectors from the Tories. He follows ex-Tory colleagues in parliament Dame Andrea Jenkyns, Lee Anderson, Marco Longhi and Sir Jake Berry to jump ship to Mr Farage’s party.Speaking as his defection was announced, Mr Holloway said: “There comes a moment for many soldiers — and most politicians — when you realise the battle you think you’re fighting isn’t the one your leaders are waging. Many in Britain feel we may already have passed the point of no return. Our cities grow less cohesive, the country effectively bankrupt.“That moment came for me watching Kemi Badenoch tell Trevor Phillips there are real differences between Reform UK and the Conservatives. She was right. The difference is the Reform leadership and voters grasp the scale of our national peril and back a party serious about addressing it.”I joined the Army to serve the country, not the institution. The same applies now. If we want to rescue Britain, we must be honest about who’s still willing to fight for her.”MP Adam Holloway (Luke Goodsall/PA) More

A British-Israeli woman who was held hostage by Hamas for more than a year has said Sir Keir Starmer is “not standing on the right side of history” following his pledge to recognise a Palestinian state.Emily Damari, who was held by Hamas for 15 months, accused him of a “moral failure”, warning that his promise to recognise Palestine if Israel fails to take steps to end the war in Gaza “risks rewarding terror”. On Tuesday, the prime minister recalled the Cabinet from their summer holidays to discuss steps to end what he called the “appalling situation in Gaza”, where a UN assessment has warned the population is facing a mounting humanitarian crisis.British Israeli citizen Emily Damari was kidnapped and held for 471 days by Hamas (Pomi Ofir Tal/PA) More

Keir Starmer’s announcement that the UK will recognise a Palestinian state in September (unless Israel meets stringent conditions) was undeniable theatre.But in the drama of the statement on Tuesday evening, there was a nagging sense that it was more performative than an act which would change things on the ground in Gaza and Israel.Only time will tell whether Sir Keir has come to the right conclusion – and a majority of people believe he has – but the real issues are whether he has done it for the right reasons, and if it was an act of strength or weakness.Keir Starmer said Britain will recognise Palestine in September More

The population of England and Wales has seen its second biggest annual jump in 75 years due to surging immigration, new figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the population grew by 700,000 in the year to last June, almost entirely driven by migration. The statistics watchdog said a small portion of the increase was driven by natural change, the difference between births and deaths. But net migration, the difference between those moving to England and Wales and those leaving, accounted for 690,147 of the increase.Some 1,142,303 people were estimated to have arrived in England and Wales in the 12 months to June 2024 while 452,156 were likely to have left.There were an estimated 61.8 million people in England and Wales in mid-2024, up 706,881 (1.2 per cent) from 61.1 million in mid-2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).It is the second largest numerical jump since at least 1949, when comparable data begins, behind only the rise of 821,210 that took place in the preceding 12 months from mid-2022 to mid-2023.Nigel Henretty of the ONS said: “The population of England and Wales has increased each year since mid-1982.”The rate of population increase has been higher in recent years and the rise seen in the year to mid-2024 represents the second largest annual increase in numerical terms in over 75 years.”Net international migration continues to be the main driver of this growth, continuing the long-term trend seen since the turn of the century.”Nigel Farage said the figures are “disastrous for the quality of life for everyone in the country”. The Reform UK leader said: “It puts impossible pressures on public services and further divides our communities.” Sir Keir Starmer sparked fury with an anti-immigration speech in May More

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is under investigation by Parliament’s standards watchdog, it has emerged. A probe has been opened into the “registration of an interest”. Nigel Farage told The Independent the inquiry was opened following a complaint from a member of the House of Lords, but added: “It is not to do with any undeclared income”.Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage is under investigation (Lucy North/PA) More

Gary Neville has hit out at Rachel Reeves for her national insurance hike, saying it has hampered employment and “could have been held back”. The ex-Manchester United star said the chancellor has significantly increased the burden on businesses and that the national insurance increase was “a challenge”. Mr Neville was a vocal backer of Labour at the last general election, at one point walking in the fells of the Lake District with Sir Keir Starmer for a video endorsing the party.But he has now joined business leaders and economists in attacking the chancellor’s decisions since entering government. Keir Starmer and Gary Neville filmed walking together during the general election campaign More

Heidi Alexander has doubled down on her fellow Cabinet minister’s claim that Nigel Farage is on the side of “people like Jimmy Savile”.The Reform UK leader is “happy for there to be a free for all on the internet”, the Transport Secretary said, as she defended Peter Kyle’s comments.The Technology Secretary had accused Mr Farage of being on the side of “extreme pornographers” over Reform’s pledge to scrap the Online Safety Act.Asked if she agrees with Mr Kyle’s statement, Ms Alexander told Sky News: “Nigel Farage is, in effect, saying that he is on their side because he’s saying he’s wanting to repeal the Online Safety Act.“I think that the position of Reform in saying that they want to repeal the entirety of the Online Safety Act, which is one of the most important pieces of legislation when it comes to the protecting of our children and the safety of young people online, I think that, in effect, what Nigel Farage is saying is that he’s totally happy for there to be a free for all on the internet.“That’s not the position of the Labour Government. It’s not the position of me. It’s not the position of Keir Starmer or Peter Kyle, and that is the point that the Technology Secretary was rightly making yesterday.”Mr Farage has demanded an apology from Mr Kyle, describing the remarks as “so absolutely disgusting that it’s almost beyond belief”.Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, the minister had said: “We have people out there who are extreme pornographers, peddling hate, peddling violence. Nigel Farage is on their side.“Make no mistake about it, if people like Jimmy Savile were alive today, he’d be perpetrating his crimes online. And Nigel Farage is saying that he’s on their side.”Following this, Clacton MP Mr Farage urged people to sign a petition calling for the legislation to be repealed.Writing in the Telegraph, Mr Kyle said proposals to overturn the Act “makes my blood boil”, as he argued repealing it would benefit “disgusting predators who contact children and groom them online”.He added: “I make no apologies for putting the interests of vulnerable children ahead of the interests of predators and child abusers – and the Reform leader’s ego.”Also writing for the newspaper, Mr Farage said “all of this is of course a deflection from the real problem with the Online Safety Act”, as he raised concerns over ID checks.He added: “In the name of safety, the Act poses the biggest threat to freedom of speech in this country in our lifetimes.“In the name of protecting children, the law aims to regulate what adults are allowed to say or see – while doing nothing to make our children safer.”Shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said making statements about overturning the Bill is “very lazy” and “not responsible”.Under rules that came into effect on July 25, online platforms such as social media sites and search engines must take steps to prevent children accessing harmful content such as pornography or material that encourages suicide.Sir Keir Starmer jumped to defend the legislation from its critics when he met Donald Trump on Monday, telling reporters: “We’re not censoring anyone.“We’ve got some measures which are there to protect children, in particular, from sites like suicide sites.”The Prime Minister added: “I personally feel very strongly that we should protect our young teenagers, and that’s what it usually is, from things like suicide sites. I don’t see that as a free speech issue, I see that as child protection.” More