Confessions of a new intake Labour MP: ‘We're not here to make friends'
Many of the MPs who have been cast adrift are from the new intake, and so today we are joined on the podcast by Mike Tapp, MP for Dover and Deal, to give his reflections on a year in office. On the podcast: he offers James Heale his advice on stopping the boats; details how Labour can start to deliver tangible change for people in constituencies much like his own; explains why Keir was right to suspend his fellow MPs; and gives us an insight into the future Labour stars from the new intake.
Produced by Oscar Edmondson.
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Telegraph
a few seconds ago
- Telegraph
Tulip Siddiq brands Bangladesh trial a ‘farce'
Tulip Siddiq says her corruption trial in Bangladesh is a 'farce' driven by a 'political vendetta'. The former City minister, who is being tried in her absence, accused authorities in Dhaka of 'peddling false and vexatious allegations' and said the case was ' built on fabricated accusations ' Ms Siddiq, along with her mother Sheikh Rehana and sister Azmina Siddique, and brother Radwan Mujib Siddique, known as Bobby, are facing multiple corruption charges in relation to the allocation of plots in one of the largest housing projects in the country. The Labour MP is the niece of Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh's authoritarian former prime minister, who fled the country after she was ousted last year following a violent crackdown on student protesters. As the trial began on Wednesday, Ms Siddiq launched a fresh attack on the Bangladesh government headed by interim leader Prof Muhammad Yunus, and the legal proceedings, saying she had not even received a court summons. 'False and vexatious' allegations 'The so-called trial now under way in Dhaka is nothing more than a farce – built on fabricated accusations and driven by a clear political vendetta,' she posted on X. 'Over the past year, the allegations against me have repeatedly shifted, yet I have never been contacted by the Bangladeshi authorities once. 'I have never received a court summons, no official communication, and no evidence. If this were a genuine legal process, the authorities would have engaged with me or my legal team, responded to our formal correspondence, and presented the evidence they claim to hold. 'Instead, they have peddled false and vexatious allegations that have been briefed to the media but never formally put to me by investigators.' Ms Siddiq, 42, said that Prof Yunus had refused her offer to meet when he recently visited London and claimed he was smearing her name to 'score political points'. 'Even my offer to meet … Muhammad Yunus during his recent visit to London was refused,' she wrote. 'Such conduct is wholly incompatible with the principles of a fair trial that we uphold in the UK. 'I have been clear from the outset that I have done nothing wrong and will respond to any credible evidence that is presented to me. Continuing to smear my name to score political points is both baseless and damaging.' On the first day of the trial, it was claimed Ms Siddiq 'exerted pressure and influence' on Sheikh Hasina to illegally hand land to her mother and siblings. Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) alleges Sheikh Hasina, in collusion with senior officials, unlawfully obtained six plots of 7,200sq ft each in the diplomatic zone of Sector 27 of the Purbachal New Town project for herself and her family. Muhammad Salahuddin, the ACC deputy director, who heads the investigation, recorded his statement before Judge Muhammad Rabiul Alam, of Dhaka Special Judge Court-4, saying the former prime minister concealed ownership of housing facilities in Dhaka in violation of existing laws. The ACC has filed six separate cases with Hasina accused in each, while Ms. Siddiq has been named as an abettor in three corruption cases also involving her mother and two siblings. Ms. Siddiq 'manipulated and influenced Sheikh Hasina, who by virtue of her direct influence and under the special powers granted to her, abused the authority vested in her in breach of public trust to attain the property', claimed Mr Salahuddin. 'A perusal of the records collected during the course of the investigation also reveals that the accused, Sheikh Hasina, influenced the allotment of the plots in the Purbachal New City Project in favour of the accused Sheikh Rehana, in violation of the rules,' he added. The court has set the next hearing as Aug 28. The ACC has opened several investigations into Ms Siddiq, alleging corruption in connection with the government of Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India last year after a mass uprising against her dictatorial rule. The ACC has listed all accused as fugitives and on July 31, charges were framed against 28 people, including Ms Siddiq, Sheikh Hasina and other family members, as well as several current and former officials of the ministry of housing and public works. Ms Siddiq has not appeared at any of the pre-trial hearings so far. The court previously issued a warrant for her arrest in April.
Spectator
30 minutes ago
- Spectator
Top five howlers from Sturgeon's memoir
Oh dear. Nicola Sturgeon's memoir Frankly was always going to have its detractors, given how divisive a figure the SNP's former Dear Leader has become. A number of those people will not have read the former first minister's tome in full (for those who want to save themselves the time, Steerpike has compiled a handy list of lowlights here) and so some of the rather, er, fiery criticism may be based more on assertions about Sturgeon's character than the contents of her 450-page project. But it is the litany of factual errors dotted across the book – which appears to be written in American English – that provokes less sympathy from Mr S. Here are some of the worst… Women elected to Holyrood Claim: Sturgeon writes that: 'In fact, more women were elected to the Scottish parliament on 6 May 1999 than had been elected in total to the House of Commons since women had first been allowed to stand in 1918.' Fact check: False. Up until 1999, over 200 women had been elected to the House of Commons since women had been first allowed to stand at the start of the 20th century, compared to the total of 48 women who had been elected to The Scottish parliament on 6 May 1999. Even if the ex-FM had written instead that she meant the number of women sitting 'at any one time' she would have been incorrect, given 120 women were elected in 1997, helped in part by Labour's landslide victory. The youngest person in the Commons Claim: Sturgeon writes that: 'Amongst the newbies was Mhairi Black, precociously talented and, at just twenty years old, the youngest person ever elected to the Commons.' Fact check: False. Christopher Monck, the 2nd Duke of Albemarle, became the Member of Parliament for Devon in February 1667 at, er, just 13 years old. Getting the history right was never Nic's strong point though, eh? Wrong MP! Claim: Sturgeon reminisces on the day after the 2015 general election, where the SNP won 56 of Scotland's 59 Westminster seats. She writes: As I finally boarded the plane to London City, I thought I could at last relax a bit, but as soon as I appeared at the front of the aircraft, passengers started to clap. I found out only much later that one of the Labour MPs we had just defeated had been on the same plane that morning. For Tom Harris, until a few hours earlier the MP for Glasgow Cathcart, my presence must have made an already miserable morning feel even worse. Fact check: Well, luckily Tom Harris himself spotted the anecdote and took to Twitter to point out the inaccuracies. 'It's the only mention I get,' he notes. 'The thing is, it isn't true.' It turns out Sturgeon got Harris mixed up with Jimmy Hood, the ex-MP for Hamilton East and Lanark, as the former Cathcart politician had decided to stay in Glasgow with his family. He adds: 'Apart from writing something based on inaccurate hearsay, what is the point of the anecdote in the first place, other than to crow – again, a decade later – about a defeated opponent?' Stay classy, Nic. With a little help from my friends… Claim: In the first few pages of her chapter on Govan, Sturgeon turns to the issue of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders – who had been pushed into liquidation after the Conservative government under Edward Heath had withdraw state subsidies from certain industries. But a rather unexpected hero came to the rescue: the Beatles' John Lennon. The ex-FM writes: 'The work-in [staged by the workers to complete orders, instead of going on strike] attracted global attention, including a £5,000 donation from John Lennon.' Fact check: Only it, er, wasn't £5,000 but a £1,000 sum, as reported by the Morning Star. Whatever happened to Sturgeon's fact-checkers?! Govan by-election Claim: Rather bizarrely, the former SNP leader writes in her memoir that her party's victory in the 1988 by-election saw Jim Sillars overturn a Labour majority of 13,000. Fact check: The Labour majority that was overturned was in fact even greater – at 19,500. A missed opportunity to boast there! It's quite the list from a former leader of Scotland, eh? Steerpike encourages readers to write in with more errors they spot…
The Independent
30 minutes ago
- The Independent
Reeves accused of ‘punishing families' with inheritance tax raid – that still ‘won't fill Labour's blackhole'
Rachel Reeves has been accused of 'coming for your family's future' with a possible inheritance tax raid – but a former Treasury adviser has warned the changes still won't be enough to fill the £50bn black hole. Officials are thought to be looking at scrapping the 'seven-year rule' - which means that no tax is due on any gifts you give if you live for seven years after giving them - to help address the UK's multi-billion-pound shortfall left by Labour U-turns, higher borrowing and sluggish economic growth. It comes just days after the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) piled pressure on the chancellor to come up with solutions ahead of her budget in the autumn. But Jonathan Portes, a former Treasury adviser and professor of economics and public policy at King's College London who supports the idea of inheritance tax reform, told The Independent such changes would 'certainly not raise tens of billions of pounds, or anything like it'. Tory shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride accused Labour of punishing working families to 'fund their failure', while leading analysts at Hargreaves Lansdown warned Labour may 'come to regret' making detailed changes to inheritance tax as it could hamper efforts to boost economic growth. Inheritance tax is paid when a person's estate is worth more than £325,000 when they die and is seen by many as a form of wealth tax in all but name. Under current UK rules, gifts made more than seven years before a person's death are exempt from inheritance tax. Money given less than three years before is taxed at the full inheritance tax rate of 40 per cent, while gifts given between seven and three years have a 'taper relief' tax, between eight and 32 per cent. While it is understood that no decisions have yet been taken, among the reported measures under consideration is a potential lifetime cap on gifts to limit the amount of money people can donate outside of inheritance tax, as well as reviewing rules around the taper rate, sources told The Guardian, Responding to the reports, Mr Portes said: "Inheritance tax certainly needs reform – it is too easy for very rich people with good tax advice to avoid, and it is welcome HMT [HM Treasury] is looking at this.' "More broadly, we need to tax relatively well-off older people more – whether during their lifetimes and on death. However, IHT reform will certainly not raise tens of billions or anything like it." Hitting out at the prospective measures, Sir Mel said Labour is 'coming for your family's future to fund their failure'. "Those who've worked hard, saved responsibly and hope to leave something behind shouldn't be punished to pay for Labour's economic black hole', he added. Tax experts have also raised alarm over the possible changes. With the government planning to levy inheritance tax on pensions from April 2027, Scott Gallacher, of wealth management firm Rowley Turton, warned that families with two children and an estate over £1m could be leaving more money to the chancellor than to either of their children. "The more children you have, the worse it looks. I recently told one client that, on his death, each of his four children would get just 15 per cent of his pension, while the chancellor would take 40 per cent', he said. Meanwhile, Rob Mansfield, an independent financial advisor at Rootes Wealth Management, said it could put people off from saving into their pensions. 'It's a double whammy if you're over the age of 75, as not only could you pay inheritance tax on the pension at 40 per cent, but the beneficiaries would then pay tax on any withdrawals at their marginal rates. "We need people to save more into their pensions, and taxing people for doing the right thing seems perverse." Former chancellor and businessman Nadhim Zahawi also took aim at the idea telling The Independent it could cause more wealthy individuals to leave the UK. He urged the Treasury to make further spending cuts rather than hiking taxes. 'If the chancellor wants a sure-fire way to endanger Britain's finances further, raising inheritance tax would be top of the list', he said. 'As a businessman, I know that top talent is leaving or staying away because they don't want their life's work stolen by a greedy government that won't wean itself off an addiction to wasting taxpayers' money through excessive spending.' Meanwhile, Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, said reforms 'would need to be balanced against the fact that, at the moment, these gifts allow for money to pass through the generations' - something which brings in taxes such as stamp duty and VAT when the money is spent. 'They also feed more money into the economy and boost economic activity', she said, warning that a change in the rules could 'stymie this flow of cash, which could have an impact on growth.'
