Trump's plans for his private five-day trip to Scotland
His itinerary includes visits to his Turnberry and Menie golf courses, and the opening of a new course dedicated to his Scottish mother.
The visit will involve a significant Police Scotland operation, with mass protests anticipated around his golf courses and major Scottish cities.
Trump is expected to meet with Scottish Secretary Ian Murray, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to discuss a UK-US trade deal, and First Minister John Swinney.
First Minister John Swinney intends to use the meeting to address issues such as tariffs, Gaza, and Ukraine, while also promoting Scotland's tourism and economic potential.
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Telegraph
27 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Reeves is cynically squeezing us dry– without raising taxes
The Chancellor has not had much luck with some of her tax rises. Rachel Reeves was expecting to raise up to £3.2bn each year, or around £12.7bn in this parliament, with the scrapping of non-dom status – a policy announced by her Conservative predecessor Jeremy Hunt and then ramped up by Labour. She is heading for disappointment. With the exodus of more than 10,000 millionaires from the UK last year and an expected 16,000 this year, Reeves has been warned that the move may in fact reduce rather than increase tax receipts. Speculation is thus rife that the measures may be further watered down; there has already been some initial tweaking and softening earlier this year. The imposition of VAT on school fees is likewise now widely expected to raise less than the predicted £1.7bn by 2030, due to more than expected numbers of children transferring to the state sector and becoming a burden on education budgets. The spate of independent school closures – not just as a result of the VAT change but also employer National Insurance rises, the loss of business rate relief for schools with charitable status and the gamut of extra regulation affecting all businesses – will inevitably make this worse. But, ironically, Reeves may have been rather more adept at boosting Treasury revenue with some of the tax measures she did not actually implement. Before last year's Halloween Budget there was much speculation that rates of capital gains tax (CGT) would be brought into line with those for income tax. This would have meant that higher-rate taxpayers earning over £50,270 would have had to pay 40pc instead of 24pc on taxable property gains and 20pc on other assets. Additional rate taxpayers, earning over £125,140, even worried they might be faced with a full 45pc levy on any uplift. The fear that these rates would be aligned was an entirely rational one. The great Conservative chancellor Nigel Lawson in his 1988 Budget had done just that – although the medicine that year was very much sweetened by the scrapping of all income tax rates over 40pc at the same time. Labour's manifesto, while pledging not to raise the rates of income tax or employee National Insurance, was silent about CGT. And after winning the election, Sir Keir Starmer and Reeves never tired of talking up a £22bn 'black hole' the Tories had allegedly left them. This would soon need filling – and Reeves did nothing to dampen down speculation that CGT rises and changes to the pension regime would be how she would achieve at least part of this. In the event, the Chancellor took less drastic action. She raised the rate of CGT for non-property gains from 10pc to 18pc for basic-rate taxpayers and 20pc to 24pc for those on the higher and additional rates. In other words, she aligned the rates for different asset classes to the one already levied on property. But the speculation alone did pay dividends for Reeves. In October last year, the month running up to the Budget, CGT receipts on residential property disposals was £408m – more than double that of most other months in the last tax year. Revenue from CGT is notoriously volatile when compared to other taxes. In the 2023-24 tax year, for example, CGT liabilities were 18pc down from the previous year. But the surge in the run-up to the Budget was vast. The best explanation for the Treasury's October windfall is that residential landlords sold up in advance of a clobbering that did not materialise. As Chris Etherington, of accountants RSM, has noted: 'It is clear that anticipation of CGT changes can distort taxpayer behaviour... the Chancellor benefitted from an inadvertent windfall... Reeves does not necessarily need to increase CGT rates to raise revenues. It's potentially possible to maximise CGT receipts by simply saying very little on the subject.' The Chancellor will insist that she cannot speculate about what moves she will be making in future Budgets – due to such information having an impact on the markets. But that argument does not quite wash. She is more than happy to rule out some fiscal moves, such as raising the rate of income tax. So why not others? Is it too cynical to suggest that Reeves has found her own third way? She can benefit from increased inflows without actually raising taxes. But such tactics are far from victimless – the uncertainty and disruption caused comes at a high price. Additionally, it makes it much more difficult for people to plan for the future and may make them take unnecessary decisions that they will live to regret. In other circumstances, allowing speculation to rip may in fact hurt Treasury coffers. Not closing down current Labour Party debates about a wealth tax will surely mean more wealthy people leaving the UK in anticipation of such a move. This will not only hurt our economy but also mean lower tax yields, resulting in less money for public services.
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Donald Trump tells Chuck Schumer to 'go to hell' as tensions escalate in senate nominee deal funding
President Donald Trump detonated a high-stakes Senate negotiation with an outburst on social media on Saturday night telling Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to 'GO TO HELL' and abruptly ending talks over dozens of pending nominee confirmations. The president's Truth Social tirade came just hours before lawmakers were expected to strike a deal and depart for their month-long recess. Instead, the Senate adjourned in chaos after voting on only seven of the more than 60 nominees in limbo. 'Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!' Trump wrote. 'Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS and, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!' The outburst from the president came just as Senate leaders thought they were closing in on a long-sought agreement to confirm the nominees before the August break. Instead, the Senate rapidly voted through just seven names before adjourning until September. One nominee did break through the gridlock however, Jeanine Pirro, the former Fox News personality and New York judge, was confirmed 50-45 as the US Attorney for the District of Columbia. The president's Truth Social tirade came just hours before lawmakers were expected to strike a deal and depart for their monthlong recess The high-profile appointment that drew fierce opposition from Democrats. Pirro has been serving in the role in an acting capacity since May but her appointment drew sharp criticism from House Democrats, who warned she would be a 'partisan tool' for the White House. 'Over the past decade, Ms. Pirro has consistently demonstrated that her loyalty lies with Donald Trump the person, not with the Constitution or the rule of law,' Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) wrote in a letter to Senate leadership. Trump accused Schumer of demanding 'over One Billion Dollars' in return for advancing a limited slate of bipartisan nominees - a claim Schumer did not directly address but which derailed the fragile progress. The now-collapsed deal had been the product of marathon talks between Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Schumer, and the White House. Both parties hoped to finalize a package that would greenlight Trump's nominees in exchange for Democrats' demands on National Institutes of Health (NIH) and foreign aid funding. The Senate held a rare weekend session as the two parties tried to work out the final details of a deal. But it was clear that there would be no agreement when Trump launched his attack on Schumer and told Republicans to pack it up and go home. Lawmakers had been expected to strike a deal before departing for their monthlong recess but the negotiations fell apart after Trump's online outburst Trump's Truth Social post blindsided negotiators and threw the entire Senate into disarray. 'This demand is egregious and unprecedented,' Trump wrote. 'It is political extortion, by any other name.' Schumer, speaking on the Senate floor hours later while flanked by a poster-sized copy of Trump's post, declared the negotiations dead and blamed the president directly. 'He took his ball, he went home, leaving Democrats and Republicans alike wondering what the hell happened,' Schumer said. 'Trump's all-caps tweet said it all. In a fit of rage, Trump threw in the towel.' Although Republicans and Democrats traded blame all weekend, there had been broad consensus that a deal was within reach. 'There were several different times where I think either or both sides maybe thought there was a deal,' said Thune. 'But in the end, we never got to a place where we had both sides agree to lock it in.' Democrats insisted their offer never changed, while Republicans claimed Schumer kept escalating his demands, especially by tying nominee confirmations to reversals of Trump's proposed spending claw backs. 'We've had three different deals since last night,' said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK). 'And every time it's been, every time it's 'I want more.' According to Mullin, Trump's dramatic post didn't catch the GOP off guard - the White House had been heavily involved in the negotiations from the start. 'They want to go out and say the President's being unrealistic,' Mullin said. 'But this was never about making a deal.' With the Senate now gone until September, Republican leaders are already threatening to change Senate rules to break the logjam when they return. 'I think they're desperately in need of change,' Thune said of Senate rules following the breakdown of negotiations. 'I think that the last six months have demonstrated that this process, nominations is broken. And so I expect there will be some good robust conversations about that.' Schumer responded sharply, warning that Republicans will need Democratic votes to fund the government this fall and that any unilateral rule changes would be a 'huge mistake'. 'Donald Trump tried to bully us, go around us, threaten us, call us names, but he got nothing,' Schumer said. It's the first time in recent history that the minority party hasn't allowed at least some quick confirmations. Thune has already kept the Senate in session for more days, and with longer hours, this year to try and confirm as many of Trump's nominees as possible. This latest standoff is only the most recent escalation in the decades-long battle over judicial and executive branch confirmations. But Democrats had little desire to give in without the spending cut reversals or some other incentive, even though they too were eager to skip town after several long months of work and bitter partisan fights over legislation. Since 2013, both parties have changed Senate rules to erode the 60-vote threshold for nominees. In 2013, Democrats changed Senate rules for lower court judicial nominees to remove the 60-vote threshold for confirmations as Republicans blocked President Barack Obama's judicial picks. In 2017, Republicans did the same for Supreme Court nominees as Democrats tried to block Trump's nomination of Justice Neil Gorsuch. With Republicans unable to secure unanimous consent for Trump's nominees, each confirmation vote has required full roll calls, a grueling process that can take hours or days for each nominee. 'We have never seen nominees as flawed, as compromised, as unqualified as we have right now,' Schumer said. Trump has been demanding for weeks that Republicans cancel recess and grind through the nominations, but his fury seems to have undone whatever deal was on the table. Democrats say they remain open to resuming talks in September.
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
'Frustration' in Hull communities remain a year on from UK riots
A year on from the UK riots and people in Hull, where a hotel housing asylum seekers was targeted, believe frustration and tension still continue in the violence erupted on 3 August - fuelled by misinformation - following the fatal stabbing of three young girls at a dance class in Southport, fear and vexation gripped Royal Hotel on Ferensway was attacked after an anti-immigration protest in the city centre rapidly turned vicious with bins and vehicles being set on fire and high street shops looted - the worst unrest seen in than two miles away from this once grand looking building is The Malt Shovel pub on Anlaby Road, where Paul Renton is sipping his pint outside on the terrace under the midday sun."I'm scared for my grand kids," he said. "I don't blame the people for doing stuff like that. It's getting worse and worse now. It's all about the illegals." Mr Renton was on a trip to Bridlington when missiles were thrown at the hotel and the adjacent train station, which was forced to shut with workers barricading themselves in to prevent rioters surging onto the concourse and platforms."All the trains got cancelled and it cost us a lot of money to get back," said the Mr Renton does not condone the violence, he believes "British people have had enough" of those arriving on smalls boats from France and being housed in is one of the most divisive issues in the than 25,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel since the start of the year, according to the Home is the first time the 25,000 threshold has been reached since records began in 2018. Feelings of frustration and anger centred on immigration housing have remained high in parts of Hull, though some show empathy and numbers of asylum seekers in UK hotels had been increasing since 2020, and reached a peak of more than 50,000 in 2023. In March 2025, the asylum hotel population stood at 32, previously said the government wanted to end the use of hotels by 2029 and was trying to move people into cheaper types of Renton is not alone in his views, the same are echoed by other pubgoers. George Ketley watched disturbing scenes of the hostility and rage unfold in his home city via TV. Like Mr Renton he condemns the violence, but said at its core was the issue of asylum accommodation."It's just disgusting when we - working people - can't get a house and they're putting them in hotels. It's wrong."Hull City Council leader Mike Ross said he understood the "frustrations" over the Royal Hotel housing asylum seekers "for quite some time" and had recently written to the government requesting the hotel stop being used."They're in the process of closing down hotels across the country. We think this [Royal Hotel] should be one that closes now." Sitting on a nearby table outside the same pub terrace is former serviceman Jodie and his friend serving his country, Jodie "got into a bad place" and spent time in jail. A single parent, his life descended into further chaos when he became homeless with his six-year-old son in said he sympathised with the rioters, having felt let down by the government due to the lack of support for him and his son when they "struggled" with homelessness."I'm not going to lie, I might have been there if it weren't for my little boy."[I've] not had one bit of help off any kind of government."His friend Matt maintains he is "not a racist", before saying: "I think the frustration is still there."These guys are coming over here... living for free."When I work for myself, I'm paying my taxes and going out every day on the roof. That's the bit that gets me."However, he believes prison was justified for some rioters but "the actual lengths [were] absurd". According to Humberside Police, there have been 78 convictions relating to the disorder and a further nine adults who are charged but yet to be "dealt with by the courts".While that might provide some comfort to those affected by the rioting, others still feel they are looking over their Seihili is a support worker at Welcome House, which offers help and support to asylum seekers and said attitudes had changed for the better despite the air of negativity towards migrants, many of whom were fleeing warzones or "dangerous situations"."Some people are nice, they help. They give us opportunity. But some people say 'go back to your country'."I feel like they don't like me and I'm scared."They don't know that we work hard, pay council tax, we pay for everything. They think that we came here just to take the money and the benefit from the government." Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices
