Is Rachel Reeves planning a £24bn pension tax raid? October 1, 2024 It has been reported that the Treasury is considering what could amount to a £24bn pension tax raid as Rachel Reeves tries to plug her £22bn budget black hole. The Chancellor has reportedly been looking at tax relief on pension contributions, specifically, employers’ national insurance relief. There are two forms of national insurance. Employees, paid [...]
Labour’s relationship with business was never a love match September 30, 2024 A shambolic ‘business day’ at Labour Party conference reveals the government’s true feelings about the City, says Eliot Wilson Only those addicted to Sir Keir Starmer’s own-brand Flavor Aid would claim that last week’s Labour Party conference was an unqualified success. Assessments were mixed, but it was not the joyful fiesta a new government might [...]
Senior minister ‘disappointed but not surprised’ at Duffield resignation September 29, 2024 A senior cabinet minister has said he is “disappointed” but “not surprised” at Rosie Duffield’s resignation from the Labour Party. The Canterbury MP’s decision to resign and sit as an independent had been coming “for quite a long time”, Pat McFadden told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show. Duffield announced she was resigning the [...]
Starmer meets Trump in New York: ‘I’m a great believer in personal relationships on the world stage’ September 27, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer has met with Donald Trump during his visit to New York. The Prime Minister visited the Republican presidential candidate’s Trump Tower for talks ahead of November’s US election. Sir Keir said he wanted to meet Mr Trump face to face because “I’m a great believer in personal relationships on the world stage”. [...]
Blackstone: Private equity giant backs £10bn AI data centre deal in UK September 26, 2024 Private equity giant Blackstone has injected £10bn into the UK to build one of the largest artificial intelligence data centres in Europe. The investment will build a data centre in Blyth, in the north east of England, creating more than 4,000 jobs. Construction of the site is expected to begin next year. It comes after [...]
Pay tax on your gifts, top accountancy firm warns politicians amid Labour row September 26, 2024 Politicians should pay tax on gifts in the same way that other industries and individuals do, a leading accountant has said. Currently, firms and workers in sectors where gifting is commonplace and an element of their profession – such as the media industry or online influencers – are made pay to income tax and, in [...]
Cut Starmer some slack, three months hasn’t undone his victory September 26, 2024 The Labour Party is having some teething issues, but three months is hardly enough to judge Starmer by, writes Will Cooling.
Unions vote to condemn government’s winter fuel payments cuts September 25, 2024 Unions have voted to condemn the government’s decision to means test pensioners’ winter fuel payments, in a blow to No10 as the Labour conference came to a close. A non-binding motion brought by Unite and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) was backed by delegates in a vote on Wednesday morning in the main hall in [...]
Sick Brits to be helped back to work by ‘crack teams’ of doctors, Streeting says September 25, 2024 Sick Brits are set to be helped “back to health and back to work” by “crack teams of top clinicians”, Wes Streeting has announced in a bid to tackle rising economic inactivity. The health secretary today pledged reforms created by surgeons would be rolled out in hospitals across the UK “to treat more patients and [...]
Which taxes will Labour hike in the October Budget? September 25, 2024 Kier Starmer has said that those with the "broadest shoulders should bear the heavier burden". So where will Starmer and Reeves turn to raise some extra cash?