UK

Keir Starmer refuses to rule out raising national insurance contributionsYour 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 moreCloseRachel Reeves will pledge to put “more pounds in people’s pockets” when she announces her first Budget on Wednesday.After months of warning the public of the “tough choices” ahead, Ms Reeves is expected to promise to “invest, invest, invest” in order to “fix public services”.Reeves is expected to say in her speech today: “My belief in Britain burns brighter than ever. And the prize on offer to today is immense.“More pounds in people’s pockets. An NHS that is there when you need it. An economy that is growing, creating wealth and opportunity for all. Because that is the only way to improve living standards.“And the only way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest, invest. There are no short cuts. To deliver that investment we must restore economic stability.”The minimum wage will increase to £12.21, the Treasury revealed on Tuesday evening.Ms Reeves has described the 6.7 per cent increase as a “significant step” towards creating a “genuine living wage for working people” – although it falls short of the £12.60 an hour sum recommended by the Living Wage Foundation.Show latest update 1730253600Full report: Rachel Reeves pledges to ‘invest, invest, invest’ as she prepares to unveil historic Labour BudgetIn what is expected to be a Budget of record-breaking tax rises involving “tough choices” to “fix public services”, Ms Reeves will hold out some hope with a rallying cry that she intends to “invest, invest, invest” to turn the country around.The rhetoric appears to deliberately echo Tony Blair’s three priorities of “education, education, education” ahead of the 1997 election as Ms Reeves attempts to grasp the optimism of his New Labour government in what is widely expected to be a gloomy Budget.The Independent’s Political Editor David Maddox reports:David Maddox30 October 2024 02:001730250000‘Serious concern’ among small business owners about Budget tax risesSmall business owners are “seriously concerned” by the possibility of tax rises in the Budget on Wednesday.Some fear they will need to cut their employee headcount, including paraplanning business owner Steve Luke, 56.“I’m seriously concerned that if the Budget is as bad as I’m expecting then we may have to reduce the workforce from nine to seven or eight,” he told PA.Mr Luke says he is concerned the government will not view him as a “working person” in the Budget, as he takes a small salary from the business while also paying himself a dividend due to fluctuating income.Farmer and landlord Richard Payne, 61, who owns around 500 acres of land and rents 150-200 acres for wheat, barley, oilseed rape and canola farming, says he is “extremely nervous”.“Whilst I’m probably not going to be clobbered hard on national insurance contributions, because we don’t employ a huge number of people… I’m more worried about taxation on profit, if we make any, and also, in my case, losing agricultural property leave or business property relief on our assets,” he said.Joy Francis, 76, the owner of two nurseries and employer of 22 people, fears the increase on employer’s national insurance contributions.“(The Government) just doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of small businesses being the backbone of the economy and we’re not all money-grabbing people with shareholders to pay.”Alex Croft30 October 2024 01:001730246520Chancellor must fund Scotland “immediately and significantly”, John Swinney saysFunding for Scotland must increase “immediately and significantly” in Wednesday’s budget, first minister John Swinney has said.At a reception for business leaders on Tuesday, Mr Swinney said: “The Office for Budget Responsibility highlighted recently the potential for public investment to deliver permanent improvements in the economy.“It is welcome that my calls for the Chancellor to amend her fiscal rules have been heard, with indications last week that there will be scope for greater investment.“The Chancellor has the chance to choose to deliver a UK Budget that invests in our public services and supports the entrepreneurial spirit displayed in Scotland’s business sector.“With these new rules in place, the Chancellor must use the fiscal headroom they create to deliver a Budget that immediately and significantly enhances Scotland’s resource and capital funding, enabling us to invest more in our public services and take forward the vital infrastructure projects that support economic growth, net zero, and action to tackle child poverty.”The Scottish government recently made more than £500 million of in-year cuts, with Scotland’s finances in significant difficulty.Mr Swinney has also called for an Acorn carbon capture and storage facility in the north east of Scotland to be funded after it was overlooked twice by successive UK governments.Chancellor Rachel Reeves, left, with first minister John Swinney, right 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 moreCloseRachel Reeves will unveil her historic Budget – the first by a Labour chancellor in 14 years – with a message of hope for the UK as she pledges to deliver economic growth and put money back in people’s pockets with a rise in the national minimum wage.In what is expected to be a Budget of record-breaking tax rises involving “tough choices” to “fix public services”, Ms Reeves will hold out some hope with a rallying cry that she intends to “invest, invest, invest” to turn the country around.The rhetoric appears to deliberately echo Tony Blair’s three priorities of “education, education, education” ahead of the 1997 election as Ms Reeves attempts to grasp the optimism of his New Labour government in what is widely expected to be a gloomy Budget.The first female chancellor in the position’s 803-year history will tell the country her “belief in Britain burns brighter than ever” and while she will be making some difficult decisions “the prize on offer to today is immense”.Reeves prepares for the autumn 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 moreCloseThe Labour mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has broken ranks with Sir Keir Starmer to reject controversial plans to raise the bus fare cap by 50 per cent.The cost of a bus journey in the city will still be capped at £2, Mr Burnham has announced.Sir Keir announced in a speech in Birmingham on Monday the maximum bus fare will rise to £3 in England until the end of 2025, in a bid to ease pressure on the public finances.The hike will be announced at Rachel Reeves’ Budget on Wednesday as the government tries to plug a £22bn hole in the public finances.But Mr Burnham said on Tuesday that Manchester would “proceed with our plan to introduce a new simpler, flatter fare structure based around a £2 single fare” at the start of January.Andy Burnham said bus fares will still be capped at £2 in Manchester 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 moreCloseMillions of workers will be handed inflation-busting pay increases as Rachel Reeves hikes up the minimum wage by 6.7 per cent.The chancellor will increase the measure, also known as the national living wage, from £11.44 per hour to £12.21 in April next year.The change amounts to a £1,400 annual pay rise for a full-time worker on the national living wage. The government will also increase the minimum wage for 18- to 20-year-olds by £1.40 per hour as part of a plan to end the disparity between younger and older adult workers. In total, the change means 3.5m people workers on the minimum wage will receive a pay boost.Rachel Reeves will deliver her first Budget on Wednesday 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 moreCloseWelcome to an exclusive Ask Me Anything session with me, Andrew Grice, political columnist for The Independent.Keep scrolling for more. If you want to jump straight to the Q&A click here.The Conservative Party leadership race has entered its final stage, with Kemi Badenoch and Robert Jenrick the last two candidates vying to lead the party and become the next leader of the opposition.With voting set to close on 31 October and the winner announced on 2 November, the question now is: who will galvanise the party ahead of the next general election?Both candidates are seen as representing the right wing of the party, but significant differences in their policy focus and leadership styles have triggered debate among MPs and party members. Badenoch, known for her outspoken opposition to “woke” culture and her stances on immigration and gender identity, presents herself as a strong cultural warrior. Jenrick, on the other hand, brings his experience in housing and immigration policy, though he’s faced criticism for past controversies, particularly around accusations of bias during his time as housing secretary.As the party grapples with internal divisions and declining public trust, key questions remain: Can either candidate succeed in reducing the perception of sleaze within the party, following a series of scandals in recent years? For the uninitiated, what are the key differences between the two candidates — if any exist?And, perhaps most crucially, does either Badenoch or Jenrick have what it takes to unite the party and lead it to victory against Keir Starmer’s Labour in the next general election?If you have a question about the candidates, their policies, or the future direction of the Conservative Party, submit it now or join me live for our “Ask Me Anything” event on Thursday 31 October at midday.Register to submit your question in the comments box under this article. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments section to leave your question. For a full guide on how to comment click here.Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 12pm as I tackle as many questions as I can. 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 moreCloseTrade union leaders are already squaring up for a fight with Rachel Reeves over pay, even before she has published her first Budget.The Independent has been told that union bosses have made it clear they expect massive public sector rises in the new year “after 14 years of Tory austerity and wage constraint”.It is another headache for the chancellor who is expected to be forced to bring in some of the biggest tax rises in history to cover a £40bn black hole in Labour’s spending plans. Ms Reeves is expected to increase employers national insurance contributions and capital gains tax among a range of measures.With her main objective to bring economic growth, Ms Reeves has also pledged to her party and unions that “there will be no more austerity”.Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaking in the Commons (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA) More

Keir Starmer refuses to rule out raising national insurance contributionsYour 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 chancellor will announce Labour’s first Budget in 14 years tomorrow, leading one of the most anticipated fiscal events in over two decades.Ahead of her announcement, the chancellor has announced more details of NHS spending, pledging funding for two million extra appointments. But health secretary Wes Streeting has warned that the NHS still faces “real problems this winter,” adding that “one Budget can’t undo 14 years of damage.”The chancellor has also been warned that rumoured plans to increase employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs) could hit 700,000 workers with a £400 tax rise.This is the number of individuals estimated to be working for ‘umbrella companies’ as contractors or freelancers. Due to a loophole in these workers’ tax status, they will often find themselves covering their employers’ NICs.Andy Chamberlain, of self-employment body IPSE, said: “It’s difficult to see how this wouldn’t breach Labour’s pledge not to raise taxes for ‘working people’.”We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates ahead of the big event here, on The Independent’s liveblog. Show latest update 1730212849Starmer chairs pre-Budget meetingAhead of the Budget, Sir Keir Starmer chaired a political Cabinet meeting, without civil service officials.A Labour spokesman said: “This Budget is about investment with Labour versus decline under the Conservatives. The Prime Minister opened the political Cabinet meeting by saying that ‘politics is about choices’ and that the Budget tomorrow will show that ‘we are choosing to fix the NHS, rebuild Britain and protect the payslips of working people’, to deliver on our mandate for change.The Chancellor told ministers “there would have to be difficult decisions on spending, welfare and tax” to deal with the legacy she inherited.“She said the Labour Party promised there would be no return to austerity and the Budget tomorrow would deliver on that promise. She said the choices the Government is taking will restore economic stability.“She said the Budget would fix the foundations of the economy and deliver on the promise of change.”Albert Toth29 October 2024 14:401730210449‘No-one is going to be happy’: Unions brace for Reeves’ BudgetUnion leaders are braced for increased taxes and spending cuts in Rachel Reeves’ Budget.The chancellor has already warned she has had to make “difficult” choices in her first Budget, and the first one ever to be delivered by a female chancellor.Labour is expected to increase employers’ national insurance contributions, extend the freeze on income tax thresholds, increase in capital gains tax on shares, and close inheritance tax loopholes.One union leader told the Independent: “The impression we are getting is that no-one is going to be happy”.Kate Devlin29 October 2024 14:001730209249Reeves’ first budget is about ‘protecting the payslips of working people’Rachel Reeves’ first budget is about “protecting the payslips of working people”, the prime minister told a political Cabinet meeting.It comes amid a growing row over the definition of “working people”, with the party having promised not to raise national insurance, income tax or VAT on those individuals.Addressing the meeting on Tuesday, Sir Keir said “politics is about choices”, adding that Wednesday’s Budget will show the party is “choosing to fix the NHS, rebuild Britain and protect the payslips of working people”.The prime minister also said that the “question for the Budget is not whether we must act, it is how we act and what choices we make in the national interest”, a Labour Party spokesperson said.Millie Cooke29 October 2024 13:401730208049We will back the OBR says prime ministerThe Government will back the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), not trash it, the Prime Minister’s spokesman has said after Jeremy Hunt complained about the body publishing a review of the last administration’s spending plans on the same day as the Budget.The former chancellor complained that the body publishing a review into the “black hole” Labour says it inherited on the same day as the Budget is not impartial.Asked if the Government was using the OBR as a political tool, Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said: “No, the Prime Minister is clear that this Government is going to back the independent OBR, not trash it.“The answer is not to blame the referee, face up to the challenges we faced and be honest about the trade-offs and choices the Government face, not pretend they don’t exist.“That’s why the Government is strengthening the OBR through the Budget Responsibility Act to ensure that it’s never sidelined again, like we saw during the mini budget.“The Government has been up front about the black hole of the nation’s finances and it fully backs the OBR and the independent scrutiny it provides.”Albert Toth29 October 2024 13:201730205049Public wants ‘positive, proactive’ vision from Budget, poll showsThe public wants to hear a “positive, proactive vision” for growing the economy and restoring public services when the Chancellor delivers her Budget on Wednesday, a poll has found.Polling by Ipsos on the eve of the Budget found 84 per cent of people thought it was important to hear about Labour’s plans for improving public services during Rachel Reeves’s speech while 80 per cent wanted to hear about plans to grow the economy.Only 69 per cent said they wanted to hear about the financial “black hole” in current spending plans while less than half the public said it was important for Ms Reeves to talk about the role of the previous government in bringing about the current situation.So far, more people said they had heard negative stories about the problems facing public services and the economy than about Labour’s plans for the future.Trinh Tu, managing director of Ipsos UK public affairs, said the public was “sending a clear message” to the Government – “we know the problems, now give us solutions”.She said: “Awareness of the challenges is high, but people are much less clear on Labour’s plans to address them.Albert Toth29 October 2024 12:301730203249Starmer says ‘working people’ shouldn’t fear the Budget – but who are they?As Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver Labour’s first Budget in 14 years, we want to hear your views. How should “working people” be defined? Should high earners or those with investments be included? And how should this affect decisions in the upcoming Budget?Share your thoughts here — we’ll highlight the most insightful comments as they come in.Albert Toth29 October 2024 12:001730201449Tories urge rethink on winter fuel payment changes ahead of BudgetConservative MPs have gathered in Westminster to call on the Government to “think again” about means-testing the winter fuel payment.Later on Tuesday, they will hand in a petition to the Treasury ahead of Rachel Reeves’ first Budget on Wednesday.Shadow work and pensions secretary Mel Stride told the PA news agency that the petition has collected “over a quarter of a million signatures”.Mr Stride said that they are “calling upon the Government to think again about means-testing the winter fuel payment”.He said “many” pensioners are going to “really, really struggle”, adding: “This Government chose to give well above inflationary pay rises to trade union paymasters when it came to wage settlements and chose to take this money away from some of the most vulnerable people in the country. We don’t believe that’s right.”Conservative MPs present petition against planned cuts to winter fuel payment 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 moreCloseBritish sovereignty over the Falkland Islands is not up for negotiation, Downing Street has said after Argentinian president Javier Milei declared that the territory “will become Argentine again”.The libertarian leader, who idolises Margaret Thatcher, said Sir Keir Starmer’s decision to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius has shown the path for Argentina to claim sovereignty over the Falklands “in the long term”.But, hitting back at the claim on Tuesday, Sir Keir’s official spokesman said: “Sovereignty of the Falkland Islands is not up for negotiation.”Sir Keir Starmer’s official spokesman said sovereignty over the islands is ‘not up for negotiation’ More