UK Politics

Rachel Reeves is considering hitting the owners of high-value properties with capital gains tax when they sell their homes as part of an attempt to fill a £40bn hole in the public purse. The chancellor is said to be looking at ending the current exemption from capital gains tax for primary residences as she seeks ways to raise cash in the face of dire warnings about the state of the public finances – a move that would be seen as a “mansion tax”. Such a move would see higher-rate taxpayers pay 24 per cent of any gain in the value of their home, while basic rate taxpayers would be hit with an 18 per cent levy.Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves More

The “very worst” kind of politicians “try to drive people apart”, the security minister has said in response to comments made by Nigel Farage over the use of asylum hotels.Dan Jarvis accused the Reform UK leader of fanning the flames of division that has seen protests flare up outside hotels housing asylum seekers after Mr Farage celebrated a council’s successful legal challenge against one in Epping. Epping Forest District Council won an interim High Court injunction to stop asylum seekers being housed at The Bell Hotel, arguing it had become a “feeding ground for unrest” in recent weeks after a series of violent protests resulted in multiple arrests and saw police officers injured.Mr Farage said Reform-controlled councils will appeal the use of asylum hotels More

Pupils in London are outperforming those in the rest of the country, but Labour has no credible plan to fix the problem, a leading think tank has warned. A report by the Institute for Government (IfG) warns that educational inequalities in England have “grown wider and more pronounced” across the country and among various demographic groups since the Covid pandemic. Despite the government’s commitment to closing the disadvantage gap, the think tank warned that ministers had “not yet articulated a clear vision or plan for delivering this goal”. Sir Keir Starmer sitting round a table with school children More

Some 60 per cent of British millionaires believe they could have a better life abroad, a new survey has revealed.More than half of all the 1,000 wealthy respondents also said they are more likely to consider leaving the UK if Rachel Reeves introduces a wealth tax.The CEO of Arton Capital, the consultancy that commissioned the survey, said the findings show the country is “at a tipping point”, as the chancellor revealed plans for a new homes levy that is already drawing backlash.Some 60 per cent of British millionaires believe they would have a better life abroad, a new survey has revealed More

The UK is preparing to deploy troops to Ukraine as part of a “reassurance force” if a peace deal is reached with Russia, Downing Street has said. It comes after Sir Keir Starmer co-chaired a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” on Tuesday morning, attended by more than 30 international leaders, after Monday’s talks in Washington. The meeting saw leaders discuss possible further sanctions on Russia to pile pressure on Vladimir Putin to end the war, as well as plans to meet with their US counterparts in the coming days to put in place security guarantees for Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression. Emmanuel Macron speaks to Sir Keir Starmer during a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing More

Rachel Reeves’ plans for a new property tax on homes worth over £500,000 have been slammed as a “tax on ordinary Londoners” that will hit families hardest. The chancellor is reportedly considering a shake-up that will see homeowners taxed on the sale of properties over the £500,000 threshold, with buyers then forced to pay a yearly tax on their value. It would replace the current stamp duty regime for first homes, which sees buyers pay a tax on the value of properties over £125,000, or £300,000 for first-time buyers. Rachel Reeves said that any decisions on taxation would have to wait to be made in the autumn Budget (Yui Mok/PA) More

England’s children’s commissioner has demanded that the government stop children from using virtual private networks (VPNs) to get around age verification on porn sites.Calling for change, Dame Rachel de Souza warned it is “absolutely a loophole that needs closing” as she released a new report, which found the proportion of children saying they have seen pornography online has risen in the past two years, with most likely to have stumbled upon it accidentally.VPNs are tools that connect internet users to websites via remote servers, enabling them to hide their real IP address and location, which includes allowing them to look as if they are online but in another country. This means the Online Safety Act, which now forces platforms to check users’ ages if attempting to access some adult content, can be dodged.A government spokesperson told The Independent that VPNs are legal tools for adults and there are no plans to ban them.The age-restriction warning on the porn site PornHub on a screen in London, on 16 January, 2025, before the latest age verification checks came into force More

Sir Keir Starmer has hailed a “breakthrough” in efforts to end Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as Donald Trump said he would broker a meeting between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents.The PM joined Voldymyr Zelensky, French president Emmanuel Macron and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte for crunch talks in the White House on Monday.And, following the meeting, Sir Keir said the UK and US would begin work on the specifics of security guarantees with the US as soon as Tuesday. Keir Starmer said there was a ‘sense of unity’ between the US and Ukrainian leaders More