UK

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailAlmost two million pensioners will be forced to pay income tax in the next four years due to the government’s stealth tax freeze, new research has revealed.The chancellor’s refusal to increase the £12,570 threshold when people start paying income tax – and extending it until 2028 – will see a record number of pensioners being hit with tax bills.Currently, 8.5 million pensioners pay income tax – up from roughly 4.9 million in 2010.However, analysis by the House of Commons for the Liberal Democrats has found an extra 1.6 million pensioners will be paying it within the next four years compared to if the threshold had risen with prices.Without the freeze, the allowance would have risen to £15,220 this year and up to £15,990 in 2027/28.The Lib Dems say the policy will see the Conservative party face a “reckoning at the ballot from older voters sick of being taken for granted”.Recent figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show there are currently 12.7 million people receiving the state pension. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, over 60 per cent of these pensioners now pay income tax, up from around 50 per cent in 2010.Further analysis by the Resolution Foundation has found that the freezing on income tax thresholds will leave the average taxpaying pensioner £1,000 worse off by 2027-28.The average taxpaying pensioner will be £1,000 worse off by 2028 Liberal Democrat treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said the figures were a result of Jeremy Hunt’s “pensioner punishing budget”: “These stark figures reveal the stealth tax bombshell facing pensioners under this Conservative government.“Older people who have worked hard and contributed all their lives are now being clobbered with years of unfair tax hikes.“Jeremy Hunt’s pensioner-punishing Budget will not be forgotten come the next election.”The revelations follow on from the spring Budget, which saw the government prioritise national insurance tax cuts for workers.After cutting 2 further percentage points off national insurance, Mr Hunt and Rishi Sunak indicated their goal was to abolish the tax entirely, leaving campaigners concerned that the cost of scrapping the tax would fall on the shoulders of pensioners.Both the Conservatives and Labour have now committed to keeping the state pension triple lock, meaning the state pension rises each year in line with the highest out of wage rises, inflation or 2.5 per cent. This means that the state pension is going up by 8.5 per cent this month.Baroness Altmann, a former Tory pensions minister, told the Telegraph the income tax freeze was “worrying”. “I do think it is worrying that so many more pensioners could be dragged into the tax net as the state pension may soon rise above the frozen threshold.She added: “Most of those tipped into tax will be poorer pensioners with little more than their state pension to live on. Most of them will be totally unaware of any liability and will never have filled in a tax return in their life. They are then at risk of being hit with fines and penalties for not paying a tiny amount of tax that they didn’t even know about.”A Treasury spokesperson defended the decision to freeze tax thresholds as a “difficult decision” that the government had to take, saying: “After providing hundreds of billions of pounds to protect lives and livelihoods throughout the pandemic and Putin’s energy shock, we had to take some difficult decisions to help pay it back.“Now the economy is turning a corner, we have cut National Insurance by a third, meaning that, coupled with above-inflation increases to personal tax thresholds since 2010, we have saved the average earner over £1,500 compared to what they otherwise would have paid.” More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney, one of Ireland’s highest-profile government members, announced Tuesday he is stepping down from the government ahead of the election of a new national leader.Coveney, 51, developed a high international profile when he served as Ireland’s foreign minister between 2017 and 2022 during the turmoil over the U.K.’s departure from the European Union. Brexit had huge implications for Ireland, an EU member that shares a border with the U.K.’s Northern Ireland.Coveney has been minister for enterprise, trade and employment since December 2022.Prime Minister Leo Varadkar stepped down last month as head of the center-right Fine Gael party, part of Ireland’s coalition government, for “personal and political” reasons.His replacement, 37-year-old Simon Harris, is due to be confirmed as Ireland’s youngest prime minister, or taoiseach, next week by Ireland’s parliament, the Dail.Coveney, a member of Fine Gael, said on social network X that he’d told Harris “that I would not be making myself available to serve in cabinet when the Dail resumes next week.”Coveney told Irish broadcaster RTE that stepping aside would make it easier for Harris “to promote new talent in the party.”He said he plans to remain in parliament as the lawmaker for Cork South Central. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe UK has signed an agreement with the US that will see the two countries’ AI Safety Institutes work together to test emerging AI models.The Memorandum of Understanding will see the two align their scientific approaches and exchange information and personnel, as well as carry out joint testing exercises on AI models.The announcement follows a commitment made at the AI Safety Summit, held at Bletchley Park last November, when major AI firms in attendance such as OpenAI and Google DeepMind, agreed to a voluntary scheme that would allow AI safety institutes to evaluate and test new AI models before they were released.This agreement represents a landmark moment, as the UK and the United States deepen our enduring special relationship to address the defining technology challenge of our generationTechnology Secretary Michelle DonelanThe Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) said the new partnership with the US would take effect immediately, and that the collaboration would help governments keep pace with the emerging risks around AI as it continues to develop rapidly.The UK has signed an agreement with the US that will see the two countries’ AI Safety Institutes work together to test emerging AI models (Dominic Lipinski/PA) DSIT said similar partnerships with other countries were also planned in the future.Technology Secretary Michelle Donelan said: “This agreement represents a landmark moment, as the UK and the United States deepen our enduring special relationship to address the defining technology challenge of our generation.”“We have always been clear that ensuring the safe development of AI is a shared global issue. Only by working together can we address the technology’s risks head-on and harness its enormous potential to help us all live easier and healthier lives.“The work of our two nations in driving forward AI safety will strengthen the foundations we laid at Bletchley Park in November, and I have no doubt that our shared expertise will continue to pave the way for countries tapping into AI’s enormous benefits safely and responsibly.”Gina Raimondo, US secretary of commerce, said: “AI is the defining technology of our generation. This partnership is going to accelerate both of our Institutes’ work across the full spectrum of risks, whether to our national security or to our broader society.“Our partnership makes clear that we aren’t running away from these concerns – we’re running at them. Because of our collaboration, our Institutes will gain a better understanding of AI systems, conduct more robust evaluations, and issue more rigorous guidance.“By working together, we are furthering the long-lasting special relationship between the US and UK and laying the groundwork to ensure that we’re keeping AI safe both now and in the future.”Speaking in November last year, Rishi Sunak said the AI Safety Summit would “tip the balance in favour of humanity” in reference to the agreement with AI firms to vet their new models.The Prime Minister said “binding requirements” would likely be needed to regulate the technology, but now is the time to move quickly without laws.Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, has also described AI as “one of the biggest threats” facing humanity.The Government announced in February that more than £100 million will be spent preparing the UK to regulate AI and use the technology safely, including helping to prepare and upskill regulators across different sectors.Ministers have chosen to use existing regulators to take on the role of monitoring AI use within their own sectors rather than creating a new, central regulator dedicated to the emerging technology. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailTwenty Lancashire councillors have resigned their Labour memberships after accusing Sir Keir Starmer and the national leadership of using “aggressive bullying tactics”.The councillors each sit on Pendle Borough Council, Nelson Town Council or Brierfield Town Council, and claim the national Labour Party no longer represents them.They claim the party is “targeting local councillors” by “preventing them from standing for elections” and will now form their own independent group.Pendle Borough leader Asjad Mahmood, now the leader of the independent group, said in a statement: “I, along with my colleagues, were elected by local residents to represent them in the council chamber.“As a Labour councillor, I have always felt that the party’s policies were aligned with my own beliefs and those of the constituents who have honoured me with their votes.“Sadly, over a recent period, senior party officials have attempted to impose their ideas at a local level. I was elected to serve the public, not party officials.”The Labour Party was facing opposition from some MPs over the use of the union flag on campaign material, according to reports It comes after 11 councillors quit the party in Burnley over Sir Keir’s decision not to push for a ceasefire in Gaza in November last year.Councillor Mohammed Iqbal, who was also among those who resigned, told BBC North West Today: “The party nationally seems to want to control who can stand where and when. We don’t think that’s right so we have taken the difficult decision to resign.”The Labour Party said its “focus is on winning the next general election to improve the lives of those we are elected to serve”.Last week, it was reported that Sir Keir was facing opposition from Bame Labour MPs over the use of the union flag on election campaign material.One MP who spoke to The Guardian described free post campaign material as being “plastered with union jacks” and worried it would alienate ethnic minority voters.In November, Burnley’s council leader quit the Labour Party just days after urging Sir Keir to resign as leader over his stance on the Israel-Hamas war. Councillor Afrasiab Anwar said it had been a “really difficult decision” to leave the Labour Party. Mr Anwar and 10 other councillors decided to leave the party – describing their memberships as “untenable” given the leadership’s refusal to demand a ceasefire in the Middle East.Sir Keir told reporters that his focus was on stopping the suffering in Gaza, not on the “individual positions” of party members. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe number of childcare places has dropped by more than 1,000, even as demand is expected to soar with the introduction of free hours for two-year-olds, according to Labour. This month sees the rollout of what the government has billed as the biggest ever expansion in childcare. Ministers have promised working parents that by next year they will be given 30 free hours from the end of maternity leave until the day their child starts school. The first stage, however, will see parents of two-year-olds receive 15 free hours.But Labour has accused the Conservatives of having a “childcare pledge without a plan” as it warned that families are still struggling to enrol their children. A new analysis of Ofsted data suggests childcare places fell by more than 1,000 between March and December last year, the party said, out of a total of 1.2 million. Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, is calling on the chancellor to guarantee that eligible parents will not lose out on places as a result of a “botched” plan. The 15 hours will be extended to working parents of all children older than nine months in September, before the full rollout of 30 hours a week a year later.Labour also published a dossier about “childcare chaos”, which includes testimonials from parents and nurseries across England who complained of high costs, extra fees and waiting lists at some nurseries of up to 18 months. One nursery warned that it could be “forced to go bust” under the government’s expanded offer.The Independent ran its own investigation, showing some parents were to face a hike in fees despite the introduction of free hours.The childcare pledge was the central plank of chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Budget last year. Ministers insist it will boost the economy by helping thousands of parents back into the workforce. The dossier from Labour said: “The Conservatives’ childcare pledge without a plan… is threatening to crash the childcare system just like the Conservatives crashed the economy.”Ms Phillipson said: “After 14 years of Tory failure, it will be Labour who get on with the job and finally deliver the much-needed childcare for parents.“That is why we have commissioned respected former Ofsted inspector Sir David Bell to lead a review on early education and childcare to guarantee early years entitlements for parents.“Only Labour will reform our childcare system and deliver the accessible, affordable early years education that will give children the best start in life.”Childcare places have fallen by more than 1,000Education secretary Gillian Keegan has hit back at Labour, saying the party would put the expansion plan “at risk” if it wins the general election. Neil Leitch, chief executive of the Early Years Alliance, said: “If there is one thing that the first phase of the entitlement expansion has shown, it’s that simply promising ‘more free childcare’ is meaningless if you’re not willing to invest in the infrastructure needed to deliver it.”He added that many nurseries, childminders and preschools have had “no choice” but to limit the number of new funded places they offer.Mr Leitch said: “It’s completely unsurprising, therefore, that many parents accessing a place for the first time have found it difficult, if not impossible, to do so.”He added: “Ministers have made a big promise to parents.“Only by providing the support that the sector needs will they be able to keep it.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe government is facing calls from opposition parties and senior Conservatives to publish the legal advice it has received on the war in Gaza following claims it has been warned Israel has breached humanitarian law.Shadow foreign secretary David Lammy said Lord Cameron and Rishi Sunak should “come clean” on what they have been told. It comes after a leaked recording of a senior Tory MP, who claimed ministers were concealing the advice. Alicia Kearns, the chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, said she was convinced ministers had concluded Israel was not demonstrating a commitment to international law. The Foreign Office has said it keeps advice on Israel’s compliance with international law under review but that it would remain confidential.Israel has come under intense international scrutiny over its treatment of Palestinians since the start of the war against Hamas, which followed the October 7 atrocities in which 1,200 were killed.David Cameron and Rishi Sunak must now (come) clean and publish the legal advice they have receivedDavid Lammy In the leaked recording, of Ms Kearns answering questions at an evening drinks reception hosted by the West Hampstead and Fortune Green Conservatives in London on March 13, she said: “The Foreign Office has received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law but the Government has not announced it.”They have not said it, they haven’t stopped arms exports.”They have done a few very small sanctions on Israeli settlers – and everyone internationally is agreed that settlers are illegal, that they shouldn’t be doing what they’re doing, and the ways in which they have continued and the money that’s been put in.”Licences to export arms cannot be granted if there is a clear risk the weapons could be used in serious violation of international humanitarian law.Ms Kearns told the Observer newspaper, which obtained the leaked recording: “I remain convinced the Government has completed its updated assessment on whether Israel is demonstrating a commitment to international humanitarian law, and that it has concluded that Israel is not demonstrating this commitment, which is the legal determination it has to make.”Transparency at this point is paramount, not least to uphold the international rules-based order.”Rishi Sunak A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We keep advice on Israel’s adherence to international humanitarian law under review and ministers act in accordance with that advice, for example when considering export licences.”The content of the Government’s advice is confidential.”Mr Lammy said Ms Kearn’s comments raise “serious questions about whether the Government is complying with its own law.”David Cameron and Rishi Sunak must now (come) clean and publish the legal advice they have received.”SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn accused the government of being “on the wrong side of history” on the issue.He added that the PM and foreign secretary “owe it to the public and to the high offices they currently hold to be honest about whether they have received advice that Israel has breached international humanitarian law.”If reports are to be believed, and the UK Government has continued to supply arms and intelligence to Israel whilst knowing they were in breach of international humanitarian law, then the position of both would be untenable.”Lord Cameron has stressed Israel’s responsibilities under humanitarian law, including to ensure aid gets to civilians. More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailLabour will use emergency powers to build new prisons and stop criminals being released months early because of overcrowding, if it wins the next election.Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, said the state of jails was a “national emergency”. Labour would use planning laws to say the construction of new buildings must be completed “as a matter of urgency”.Alex Chalk, the justice secretary, has expressed “significant frustration” that prison expansion had been “bogged down” by the system.He is also thought to have privately warned Rishi Sunak that prison places could run out within weeks.Ms Mahmood said she would “deliver where the Tories have failed and get to that 20,000 (extra places) as soon as possible” and no later than 2030, in an interview with the Sunday Times. She said: “For too long in this country, we just haven’t been able to build anything. This country needs the delivery of those prison places. I am just not prepared to put public protection further at risk.”Ms Mahmood also said her plan would use the existing £4 billion budget for prisons.She added that the Conservatives could not claim to be the “natural party of law and order” but accepted some people may have “an assumption about the way Labour will do things. What I would say is I’m interested in doing things that cut crime and keep people safe. And I absolutely do believe that people need to be punished.” She also talked of the impact of the war in Gaza after Keir Starmer appeared to say on LBC radio that Israel had the right to withhold water and power from the besieged enclave. “It leaves people feeling hurt, misunderstood, delegitimised,” she said. “I think the LBC interview and a couple of other things about that period led to a loss of trust between us and the British Muslim community which obviously we need to put right.” Asked can it be put right, she said: “I think so” though it is “not easy” and “people are hurt”.Shadow justice secretary Shabana Mahmood (Peter Byrne/PA)In January a former chief inspector of prisons accused the government of announcing “panicky” measures to tackle the prisons capacity crisis.Nick Hardwick, now a professor of Criminal Justice at Royal Holloway University, has called for a radical rethink, with inmates trapped in squalid, overcrowded conditions in their cells for 23 hours a day.Last October in an attempt to deal with the crisis Alex Chalk announced a series of emergency proposals, including releasing some prisoners early and plans to rent prison space overseas.Mr Hardwick warned that prison building has not kept pace with the speed of the population increases. In September it emerged that plans for an extra 20,000 prison places by the mid-2020s are not expected to be completed until 2030, because of planning delays. More