There is disquiet among Labour and Crossbench peers this week as many who backed the Government’s push to abolish hereditary peers, thinking they would stop there, now find themselves in Starmer’s sights. Never trust a Labour promise…
Dozens of Labour Lords and Crossbenchers, many of whom are over 80 or don’t have the best attendance record, supported Starmer’s move to abolish hereditary peers in the hope that the Government would kick any further reforms into the long grass. AKA, their own seats would be safe. But Starmer’s Leader in the Lords is shafting their own supporters with their latest move…
Labour’s Baroness Smith wrote in The Telegraph yesterday suggesting the government will pursue plans to force peers to retire at 80 years-of-age and punish non-attenders. This won’t end well for Labour’s own backbenchers and crossbench peers. The real story is that the opposition in the Lords is pulling apart Labour’s ill-thought through legislative agenda and proving a real frustration for Starmer. No wonder he is trying to gerrymander the numbers…
If you found yourself in the office of controversial Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, it’s said that just down the corridor is another room containing staff from a curious UK-based charity and company founded by none other than Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s National Security Adviser. Powell, the architect of the Chagos disaster and former Chief of Staff to Tony Blair, founded Inter Mediate in 2011. It still touts Powell on its website, despite the Blairite bag carrier having long-since moved back into government at the highest level as NSA…
The charity said on Powell’s appointment: “Jonathan has left a remarkable legacy that Inter Mediate will now take forward.” The organisation is funded by British taxpayers. As a recent parliamentary answer states:
“The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funds a number of different civil society and non-governmental organisations for our mediation and conflict resolution work, including Inter Mediate. We have partnered with Inter Mediate for over 10 years to advance peace efforts in conflicts around the globe. Funding of Inter Mediate began under the previous government. We do not disclose details of the individual projects funded.”
The organisations’ entry on the Charity Commission register for the most recent financial year, however, states: “total income includes £887,553 from 3 government grant(s).” Odd that Labour would not provide a figure to parliament, then…
Powell is currently topping up his government experience working on the Ukraine and Chagos files. If he moves back to Inter Mediate, will Rayner’s ethics commission be taking a look?
Downing Street is refusing to dismiss the possibility of a future ban on Virtual Private Networks. Asked in today’s Lobby briefing if the government would rule out restricting the use of VPNs for children or anyone else at any point in the future, Number 10’s official spokesman said the government have “no plans to go beyond that“… but nonetheless said they would “keep under review what is necessary to keep children safe online“. The coy sort of language that leaves the door wide open to plans that do in fact go beyond that in the future…
As Guido has reported, Labour has previously supported moves to crack down on VPNs when the Online Safety Act was first going through parliament. Here’s what prominent backbench MP Sarah Champion said at the time:
“My new clause 54 would require the Secretary of State to publish, within six months of the Bill’s passage, a report on the effect of VPN use on Ofcom’s ability to enforce the requirements under clause 112. If VPNs cause significant issues, the Government must identify those issues and find solutions, rather than avoiding difficult problems.”
The party front bench subsequently backed Champion’s mission. VPN use has skyrocketed since the Online Safety Act was implemented, and the campaign to ban them is already whirring into motion. Of course if even Beijing can’t ban VPNs, it would be less than pointless for Whitehall to try. Evidence has never stopped the blob before…
Labour has still failed to publish its “business tax road map” despite making loud promises prior to the election and pledging to in the manifesto. Wonder why…
Reeves said in a speech at Jaguar Land Rover on 28 May 2024:
“Stability must mean something else too – and I have heard time and time again from business how important this is: Certainty in our tax system. Which is why we have committed to the publication of a business tax roadmap covering the duration of the parliament, within the first six months of a Labour government.”
The manifesto said: “We will publish a roadmap for business taxation for the next parliament which will allow businesses to plan investments with confidence.” Pretty clear language there…
Alongside the October budget the Treasury published a corporation tax roadmap, which is something different. There are at least another 15 significant business taxes before you count smaller sectoral business taxes like landfill tax, plastic packaging tax, and the aggregates levy that apply to specific industries. Guido has made a handy list of those other business taxes below…
Co-conspirators may remember Reeves’ subsequent promise not to increase taxes on business again last November:
“I faced a problem, and I faced into it…we’ve put our public finances back on a firm footing, and we’ve now set the budgets for public services for the duration of this Parliament. Public services now need to live within their means because I’m really clear, I’m not coming back with more borrowing or more taxes.”
Businesses have none of the certainty promised by Labour and the prospect of more taxes in the upcoming omnishambles budget. No roadmap – Reeves fancies keeping each fiscal event a surprise…
Anna Leach, Chief Economist at the Institute of Directors, tells Guido:
“The government’s tax strategy for business still feels like a work in progress. Last year’s corporate tax roadmap was a step forward, with welcome commitments on freezing the corporation tax rate, capital allowances and R&D reliefs. But you simply cannot claim to be delivering stability and predictability alongside a steep rise in the tax burden on business. Businesses have been clear: they want certainty, predictability and consistency in the tax system. Instead, the practice of floating tax ideas in public is fuelling damaging uncertainty at a time when confidence is already at record lows. We urge the government to end this approach and work with business to design a tax system that raises revenue effectively while supporting investment and growth.”
The Treasury did not reply to a request for comment. Telling…
Read some of the other business taxes below:
Continue reading “EXC: Labour Fails to Publish ‘Business Tax Roadmap’ It Promised in Manifesto”
Starmer’s winter of discontent is kicking off very early in Parliament as members of the PCS union – which represents civilian parliamentary security guards – have called a strike. They’re walking out on the first two Wednesdays of September, refusing to do overtime and working-to-rule…
Parliamentary authorities say they have contingency plans in place and MPs have been told there will be no disruption to business but there may be “some changes” to access to the Palace. Brace for some long queues at PCH…
Farage was asked about Angela Rayner adding to her property empire after buying her third home, at the same time as imposing a 100% council tax on second homes. Farage said:
“If Angela Rayner has been tremendously successful in business…and managed to acquire a property portfolio and done it properly, well, jolly good luck to her. I think probably most of the press want politicians in sackcloth and ashes, would like us all to go vegan and give up drinking. Well, it’s not happening here.”
That was met with laughter in the room…
Lucy Powell on LBC, asked by Tom Swarbrick for her reaction to Labour MP Samantha Niblett’s call for a ‘summer of sex’ debate in Parliament: “I personally don’t own any sex toys, but each to their own… I’m not really sure that’s the right place for it, no.”