Demoted former Environment Secretary – now Chief Secretary to the Treasury – Emma Reynolds has refused to say how Andy Burnham’s 20% pub & club business rates cut will be funded. Promises first – it’s Starmerite really…
She told Sky News:
“Obviously, I’m well into the numbers. I’m not going to give you all the numbers today, but I will we will set out in more specific detail… We’ve got the two major ways in which we’re going to do this. It’s a 100 million pounds for the next financial year. This comes in addition to some of the relief that’s already in place uh from April this year. So, the 15% cut in business rates for pubs and clubs and live music venues.”
That is the third policy of this week – in which there have been three policies – that is unclear in its funding. Burnham previously said he would raise rates on out of town warehouses – which has the effect of pushing up food price inflation. The government says rates on ‘non-desirables’ like vape shops will go up. Funding commitments on the hoof…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”