New research from the Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) has revealed that families will be faced with a whopping £5.2 billion tax bill on their festive spending this Christmas. Over December, the average household will fork out an extra £191.75 in taxes, including on VAT, fuel duty, sugar tax, and alcohol taxes. The TPA points out this is equivalent to 23 Tesco Finest 800g Christmas puddings, enough to serve 184 people…
The paper also shows that, as more Brits move their shopping online, the proposed 2% online sales tax would also add another £57 million to the overall Christmas tax bill. Speaking on the findings this morning, John O’Connell said:
“Despite families already forking out a fortune this festive season, the taxman has clearly decided ‘tis not the season to be jolly. After a cancelled Christmas last year taxpayers deserve a break, but HMRC’s litany of levies leave a big hole in their finances. The taxman should stop playing Grinch and leave us a bit more cash in our Christmas stockings.”
All this while inflation soars and energy bills rise…
Imran Ahmad Khan MP, who until recently had the Tory whip, will face trial in March next year following accusations for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old 13 years ago. The Sun were the first to reveal his identity in June after being charged, at which point he lost the Tory whip and promised not to attend parliament while the case proceeded. Only to then turn up and vote in November…
Khan appeared via video link today, to be informed of the trial date. Now we get Khan’s trial and Webbe’s appeal in the same month…
France has dramatically announced this morning it will enforce “more drastic border control” measures towards British travellers in response to surging Omicron cases, with a near-total ban on travel to and from the UK as of Saturday for all except those with proof of “a compelling reason”, such as a family emergency. The ban also includes business travellers, and those who do receive entry – mostly French nationals – will be required to isolate for 7 days, or 48 hours if they test negative during quarantine. They’ve also moved the negative PCR requirement forward from 48 hours to 24. The day after the UK scrapped the red list given Omicron’s now dominant across the world…
Co-conspirators will remember Tory MP Brendan Clarke-Smith’s lift escapade back in September, when he got stuck in one of Parliament’s lifts for 50 whole minutes. It now seems one co-conspirator on the estate enjoyed the story so much they’ve made up a faux blue plank commemorating the event. Good to see Brendan’s name going up in the world…
In 2018 Guido revealed that MP and anti-Brexit campaigner Damian Collins had spaffed £30,000 on a fake news ‘fact finding’ jolly to the US; comprising flights, luxury hotel rooms, food allowance and Amtrak tickets. It now seems Damian’s about to get another taxpayer-funded jolly thanks to a motion passed in Parliament a few weeks back. The change, approved by the House, will allow his cross-house Committee for the Draft Online Safety Bill to convene outside of the UK, “from place to place”. He and the Committee will soon be heading to Brussels…
The impending cost of Damian’s latest planned trip is raising even more eyebrows among those in the know that his last. His 2018 trip was in the role of elected chair of the DCMS Select Committee; this time he’s playing an unelected role, given to him as a consolation prize by the party. One sceptical colleague suggested it’s going to be nothing more than a “vanity project for yesterday’s man.”
One MP who attended Collins’ US jamboree noted to Guido it’ll be interesting to see whether he manages to keep costs under control this time. In 2018 he gave himself a luxury penthouse suite in the New York Benjamin Hotel, with his own bar area, while all the rest of the MPs were in normal rooms. Once again, Guido asks: has the Committee not heard of Skype?
Great Christmas PMQs moment this lunchtime as Tories groaned en masse upon Blackford’s turn to ask questions. One SNP MP shouted ‘it’s not a panto!’ Prompting the obvious response…
