logo
Minister is keen to cut two bank holidays – which ones and why

Minister is keen to cut two bank holidays – which ones and why

Independent15-07-2025
France 's Prime Minister, Francois Bayrou, has proposed eliminating two public holidays, potentially including Easter Monday and Allied victory day, to generate savings for the 2026 budget.
This controversial measure is part of a broader fiscal plan aiming to achieve an estimated €44 billion in overall savings to address France's substantial debt and deficit.
Mr Bayrou argues that scrapping holidays would boost economic activity and tax revenues, aligning with President Emmanuel Macron 's directive to repair public finances.
Easter Monday and Victory Day were among the holidays discussed
The proposals face significant opposition from unions and the far-right National Rally, complicating their passage through a hung parliament where Macron's centrist grouping lacks a majority.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

UK is working with Jordan on plan to air drop aid into Gaza, Starmer tells France and Germany
UK is working with Jordan on plan to air drop aid into Gaza, Starmer tells France and Germany

Daily Mail​

time9 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

UK is working with Jordan on plan to air drop aid into Gaza, Starmer tells France and Germany

Keir Starmer has confirmed the UK is working with Jordan on plans to air drop aid into Gaza and evacuate children needing medical assistance. The Prime Minister held emergency talks with his French and German counterparts on Saturday amid mounting global anger at the humanitarian conditions in the enclave where thousands of people are facing famine. During the call this morning, Starmer told Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz that it is 'vital to ensure robust plans are in place to turn an urgently-needed ceasefire into lasting peace'. 'The Prime Minister set out how the UK will also be taking forward plans to work with partners such as Jordan to air drop aid and evacuate children requiring medical assistance,' a Downing Street spokesperson said. The emergency meeting took place just hours after hundreds of people gathered in Whitehall on Friday to protest against the starvation of Palestinians by Israel. The 'Stop Starving Gaza Protest', organised by the Stop The War Coalition, saw a wave of protesters armed with pots, pans and other objects descend on Downing Street to place pressure on the Government to act. Sir Keir had earlier condemned the 'appalling' and 'unrelenting' conditions in Gaza where around 90,000 women and children are suffering from malnutrition, according to humanitarian organization the World Food Programme. 'The continued captivity of hostages, the starvation and denial of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, the increasing violence from extremist settler groups, and Israel's disproportionate military escalation in Gaza are all indefensible,' he added. Israel said on Friday it would allow airdrops of aid by foreign countries into Gaza to alleviate starvation in the Palestinian territory, where there is widespread devastation. However, the head of the UN's Palestinian refugee agency warned airdrops were 'a distraction and a smokescreen' that would fail to reverse deepening starvation in Gaza, and could in some cases harm civilians. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said on Saturday: 'A man-made hunger can only be addressed by political will. Lift the siege, open the gates and guarantee safe movements and dignified access to people in need.' The readout of today's meeting made no mention of the issue of Palestinian statehood, which the Prime Minister has faced calls to immediately recognise after French President Mr Macron confirmed his country would do so in September. However, Downing Street said the leaders had committed to 'work closely together on a plan' to 'pave the way to a long-term solution and security in the region'. Once the proposals have been 'worked up', they will seek to advance them with other key partners, including in the region, the readout said. Some 221 MPs from Labour, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Greens, Plaid Cymru, SDLP and independents have signed a letter pressuring the Government to recognise a Palestinian state. Donald Trump suggested Mr Macron's announcement, which saw him commit to formally recognising Palestinian sovereignty at the UN General Assembly in September, 'doesn't matter' as he left the US for a visit to Scotland. Sarah Champion, the senior Labour MP who organised the letter by parliamentarians, said recognition 'would send a powerful symbolic message that we support the rights of the Palestinian people'. Other senior Commons figures who signed the letter include Labour select committee chairs Liam Byrne, Dame Emily Thornberry and Ruth Cadbury. Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, as well as Tory former minister Kit Malthouse, and Sir Edward Leigh - Parliament's longest-serving MP - also signed it. The majority of those who have signed, 131, are Labour MPs. The Government has so far said its immediate focus is on getting aid into the territory and insisted that recognising sovereignty must be done as part of a peace process. Charities operating in Gaza have said Israel's blockade and ongoing military offensive are pushing people there towards starvation, warning that they are seeing their own workers and Palestinians 'waste away'. The Prime Minister will meet the US president during his trip to Scotland, where he arrived on Friday evening. US-led peace talks in Qatar were cut short on Thursday, with Washington's special envoy Steve Witkoff accusing Hamas of a 'lack of desire to reach a ceasefire'. The deal under discussion is expected to include a 60-day ceasefire in which Hamas would release 10 living hostages and the remains of 18 others in phases in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

The tax raids that mean your holiday beers are cheaper than British pints
The tax raids that mean your holiday beers are cheaper than British pints

Telegraph

time11 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

The tax raids that mean your holiday beers are cheaper than British pints

British beer drinkers have been hit with bigger tax raids than anywhere else in Europe over the past six years, The Telegraph can reveal. At 61p per pint of lager, beer excise duties in the UK are among the highest in Europe, and are 9p more than in 2019, according to data from the Tax Foundation. The rate is three times higher than in France, Italy and the Netherlands, which both tax around 19p per pint, and Germany, where consumers pay just 4p. The tax raid contributes to the typically much lower prices holidaymakers will pay for beer on the continent this summer. Whilst the UK has increased duties considerably, most of Europe has kept theirs effectively frozen, with Portugal increasing levies by 4p and France by just a single penny. Exemptions made for draft pints served in pubs reduced duties to around 55p per pint, still almost three times the EU average. Hospitality business leaders warn the combined cost of beer taxes, VAT and Labour's employer National Insurance hike could ultimately see the cost of a pint soar further. The industry has lost 84,000 jobs since the 2024 Autumn Budget, according to the trade body UK Hospitality. Kate Nicholls, the chairman of UK Hospitality, said: 'Beer duty in the UK has been among the highest in Europe, along with our 20% VAT rate for hospitality. 'These taxes and other recently increased business costs, such as the change to employer NICs, will mean that the price of a pint will stay high and potentially become higher, and pubs and bars will have no choice but to pass on costs to customers.' In the Autumn Budget, Rachel Reeves increased the amount employers pay towards National Insurance from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent. The price of a pint has soared by over 28 per cent across the UK since January 2020, according to the Office for National Statistics, with a variety of factors to blame, including inflation and tax. The average price of a pint now stands at £4.83, but this would be just £4.22 without alcohol excise duties, or £4.28 if served in a pub. The figures also hide extreme regional variations, with the average price of a pint in west central London now topping £7.32, according to CGA, a market research company specialising in hospitality. In the EU, minimum beer excise duties are set by Brussels, but the vast majority of EU member states chose to go above this. In Finland, consumers pay roughly 90p per pint of 5 per cent-strength lager, by far the highest in Europe. This is followed by the UK on 61p, Ireland on 55p and Sweden on 48p. At the bottom of the list are Spain, Luxembourg, Germany and Bulgaria, which all charge 4p per pint. The Tax Foundation has monitored duties levied by states since 2019 and just seven states have increased taxes at 1p or higher over the period. Alcohol duties were reformed in 2023, basing them on the strength of the alcohol. This meant tax on certain drinks, such as wine and spirits, increased considerably. Taxes on draught pints were not changed in an attempt to keep prices below supermarket levels. Ms Reeves also cut duties on pints in pubs in the Autumn Budget by 1.7 per cent. But bottled beer served in pubs or bought at supermarkets has not been exempt from tax changes, according to the Tax Foundation's analysis. A spokesperson from HM Treasury said: 'Beer is more affordable in the UK than in much of Europe and in last year's Budget we supported pubs by cutting 1p off duty on draught pints.'

Reeves abandons inheritance tax raid on grieving military families
Reeves abandons inheritance tax raid on grieving military families

Telegraph

time11 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

Reeves abandons inheritance tax raid on grieving military families

Rachel Reeves has abandoned plans to impose new inheritance tax changes on the grieving families of military personnel. The Chancellor has dropped a proposal to tax death in service payments, which are tax-free lump sums given to the families of deceased Armed Forces members. Changes unveiled in the October Budget would have made off-duty death in service payments subject to inheritance tax for the first time, if not going to a spouse or civil partner. It would have meant that children or partners of unmarried servicemen and women would have had to pay death duties on the benefit from April 2027. The Treasury has been forced to abandon the proposals after pressure from Armed Forces organisations, which said the move would have a 'corrosive' effect on trust among servicemen. The Government said that following its consultation, it had decided not to go ahead with the reform. 'Another U-turn' by Labour Mark Francois, the shadow Armed Forces minister, told The Telegraph that he welcomed the decision, 'even though it represents another U-turn by this Labour Government'. He added: 'It was always unfair that married partners of service personnel would be exempted from these changes to inheritance tax liabilities, while unmarried partners, in long-term relationships, would not. 'We highlighted this to ministers, on behalf of service families on multiple occasions and I am pleased for their sake, that common sense has now finally prevailed.' It comes after Ms Reeves's department had to water down proposals to scrap the universal winter fuel payment and reforms to the welfare system. The Government said: 'From 6 April 2027 all death in service benefits payable from registered pension schemes will be out of scope of Inheritance Tax, regardless of whether the scheme is discretionary or non-discretionary.' The HMRC document said that the new plans were 'in line with the broader policy objective of removing inconsistencies in the Inheritance Tax treatment of different types of pension benefits'. Labour 'standing up' for service personnel? Death in service payments are usually a lump sum paid to named beneficiaries of a worker who dies while on the company payroll. It is typically the equivalent of four-times the late individual's salary. For members of the Armed Forces, these are paid whether or not the individual was 'on duty' at the time of their death. Those who die 'on duty' were to continue to benefit from a separate tax-free arrangement on their death in service payments from 2027. But a military worker who dies while technically 'off duty', such as by sudden illness or accident, would have been stung by the proposed inheritance tax rules. Maj Gen Neil Marshall, the chief executive of the Forces Pension Society, told The Telegraph in January that military servicemen and women are unable to put the payment into trust, because they are part of the Armed Forces pension scheme. Labour sought to shore up support from the Armed Forces community at last year's general election, declaring the party would be 'standing up' for service personnel and veterans. The party was successful in winning over voters from military backgrounds, most notably winning in Aldershot, the site of a major garrison, for the first time in more than a century.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store