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 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

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 moreCloseTory leadership contender Kemi Badenoch has pledged her first action if she became prime minister would be to restore tax breaks for private schools. Ms Badenoch also described Labour’s plans to impose VAT as “cruel”, as she tried to woo Conservative members at a crucial stage of her campaign to replace Rishi Sunak.But the Brexiteer, who pledged to “cut through the crap” if she is elected party leader, also admitted much of the UK’s exit from the EU had not been a success.She told the Tory faithful: “We need to stop blaming Brexit for all our problems… and start fixing problems.” Conservative leadership contender Kemi Badenoch pictured at the debate 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 moreCloseTory leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch has been accused of endorsing “disgraceful” and “wrong” claims about mental health. The outcry comes after she launched a pamphlet that said the number of claims for mental health problems in Britain has “outpaced any conceivable clinical explanation”.The Mental Health Foundation attacked the statement as “wrong”, while NHS mental health director Claire Murdoch described the whole section on mental health as “disgraceful”.It comes just days after she was accused of “stigmatising” autism by backing different claims – in the same pamphlet – which suggested people with the condition get “economic advantages and protections”.The new row has been sparked by a claim in the same document, which includes contributions from 24 supporters of Ms Badenoch, that “the rise in welfare claims related to mental health, in the UK at least, has outpaced any conceivable clinical explanation.”Conservative Party leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch 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 moreCloseSir Keir Starmer has warned his senior ministers they will have to live with swingeing spending cuts after a cabinet row over the Budget erupted in public. The prime minister is facing a backlash from Angela Rayner and other members of his top team over cuts to government departments set to be unveiled by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves. Sir Keir has received letters raising concerns after a number of his team – including transport minister Louise Haigh and justice minister Shabana Mahmood – spoke out against the measures at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, with one reportedly describing the cuts being sought as “absolutely huge”.In response, on Thursday the PM’s official spokesperson warned: “Not every department will be able to do everything they want to. There will be tough decisions taken [and] tough conversations.”They also warned that “public services and departments have to become more productive and public services will need reform”.Keir Starmer is under pressure over cuts in Rachel Reeves’s upcoming 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 moreCloseMartin Lewis has issued a warning over a new crackdown on buy now, pay later products. The money expert has cautioned consumers it is a case of buy now, get protected later.Ministers have announced that millions of shoppers are to be protected by new rules for BNPL, as they are known. Mr Lewis welcomed the change saying: “Buy Now, Pay Later is now ubiquitous at online checkouts, so the fact it’s never been regulated is a travesty I and others have long campaigned on.“The last chancellor promised to regulate, then the tumbleweed rolled as he went silent, so I am delighted the new government has quickly restarted the process.”Martin Lewis sent a warning over the new crackdown on buy now, pay later products 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 moreCloseThe wealth gap between the richest and poorest in the UK soared by nearly 50 per cent in less than a decade, as stalling wages and rising asset values fuelled inequality at the height of austerity, new analysis suggests.In a new report examining the “profound systemic impacts” of this rising inequality, researchers with the Fairness Foundation warn that it “seriously exacerbates a wide range of arguably existential risks” to the UK, such as social unrest, failure to act on the climate crisis, economic stagnation and the decline of democracy.As new polling for the charity found that three in four voters are concerned about the impact of wealth inequality in Britain, Sir Keir Starmer was urged to act to mitigate these risks, in an open letter signed by dozens of academics, charity and business leaders.Sir Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have made boosting economic growth one of their five key missions 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 moreCloseA Labour MP has claimed she has experienced better internet connection in wartorn Ukraine than she does in central London.Cat Eccles told an adjournment debate that the UK is languishing behind its European neighbours when it comes to ultra-fast broadband.Technology minister Sir Chris Bryant said the Government aspires to European levels of broadband, adding that some “cowboy” broadband companies should be told they’re “drinking in the last chance saloon”.When I was recently in Ukraine I experienced far better internet connectivity than I do in central London and Stourbridge town centreCat Eccles On Thursday, the MP for Stourbridge said: “The legislation was passed in 2013, yet here we are in 2024 still waiting for the full rollout of this ultra-fast broadband.“And while I appreciate what (Laurence Turner) has said, (that) we do have adequate fast speeds currently, it could be much better.“In fact, when I was recently in Ukraine I experienced far better internet connectivity than I do in central London and Stourbridge town centre.“So our European neighbours are enjoying much faster broadband while we languish behind, and Stourbridge residents have been left at the mercy of these third party companies.”Ms Eccles’ comments came during a debate on planning permission and telegraph poles led by fellow Labour MP Laurence Turner, who raised concerns about the amount and locations of telegraph poles in his constituency of Birmingham Northfield.He told the Commons: “This is not about being against telegraph poles, nor is it about being against the rollout of fast broadband, in fact new infrastructure is vital.”“But is it surely wrong that when poles are sited inappropriately, that recourse (for) residents is advisory only and in many cases it is lacking completely in practice,” he added.Mr Turner went on to say: “As long as the (cabinet and pole siting code of practice) remains voluntary, it will always be circumvented in some cases.”Speaking on behalf of the Government, Sir Chris said: “The vast majority of companies who are operating in this sphere are doing so entirely responsibly, they are doing a great favour for the nation in rolling out broadband at the kind of speed that everybody wants.“I note the point that was made by (Ms Eccles) about other countries in Europe, of course we want to aspire to that as well, for everybody across the whole of the UK.“The vast majority of companies are doing that, a few are frankly behaving like cowboys and I think sometimes we need as Government and as Parliament to say to cowboys that they’re drinking in the last chance saloon.”He added: “The industry has committed to revising that code of practice, I think it will be much tougher, and that guidance should be published in the new year.“But I’m absolutely clear about this, if this does not work, if voluntary adherence does not work, we reserve the right to change the law.” 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 moreCloseA Conservative MP has sparked fury after claiming Kemi Badenoch of being “preoccupied with her children”, arguing it is impossible to be an opposition leader while spending “all your time” with your family.Alex Brewer, a Lib Dem MP, said the comments made by Sir Christopher Chope about the Tory leadership hopeful were “astonishing”, and that views of this kind ultimately “damage women’s prospects”.Speaking on ITV News, Sir Christopher said: “Much as I like Kemi, I think she is preoccupied with her own children – quite understandably – but I think Robert [Jenrick]’s children are a bit older. “I think it is important that whoever leads the opposition has an immense amount of time and energy.”Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick are the final candidates to be the next Conservative Party leader (UK Parliament/PA) More